Transformers: Of Bots and Men
by Author of the Insane
Summary: AU combination of various Transformers media, leaning heavily towards Prime: An organic lifeform is stolen from an Autobot lab in an attempt to revive a fallen Decepticon. However, the experiment doesn't go exactly according to plan, and now that organic had control over one of the most deadly Decepticons known to Bot. Co-Written with my friend Writing Avenger 2016
1. The Med-bot and the Organic

_Earth. Nearly 15,000 years ago._

The planet was in the middle of a world-wide deep freeze. There was a thick sheet of ice that seemed to coat the entire planet, plunging it into an eternal winter. And still, even in this unforgiving environment, life continued to thrive. It was for this reason that Earth had become a place of interest for the Cybertronian Organic Research Division, or CORD for short.

CORD was a science division made up of Autobots fascinated with non-cybernetic based life forms. Among their ranks was the group leader Preceptor, followed by his three associates Wheeljack, Grapple, and Hoist. The four bots all manned their posts, scanning the planet with increasing interest.

"This is absolutely fascinating." Wheeljack commented as his optical sensors scanned the readouts. "Despite nearly 95% of the planet being covered in ice, I'm still picking up sporadic signs of life."

"Incredible." Grapple exclaimed, his fascination evident in his voice. "These organics must be resilient survivors."

"We'll need to collect a sample of any vegetation we can find." Preceptor suggested. "With it, perhaps we can better understand how this planet is still functioning."

"What about the other organic life?" Hoist asked. "The creatures indigenous to this sector?"

"What about them?" A groggy voice near the rear of the ship voiced.

The other Autobots turned to see Ratchet, a med bot they brought along on the mission in case one of them got injured. He was not as enthusiastic about the expedition as the rest of them, a fact that he had been more than willing to remind the crew.

"Well, wouldn't it be a good idea to bring along one of the primitive lifeforms of this planet?" Hoist clarified. "It would be the perfect chance to study their habits and capacity to learn."

Ratchet scoffed again, crossing his arms irritably. He was no fan of organic life, having witnessed more than his fair share of Autobots that had succumbed to some form of organic damage.

"Learn what?" The cranky med-bot questioned. "These primitive life forms are little more than a virus."

Preceptor just shook his head.

"Ratchet, we all have heard the story of organic life and the effect it has had on any Cybertronians that come into contact with it." He remarked. "That's why we need to learn everything we can about it, and Hoist's suggestion is a valid one. Having a living specimen to study could broaden our understanding of non-cybernetic lifeforms for stellar cycles to come."

"If you say so." Ratchet dismissed with a wave of his hand.

The med bot walked away as Grapple sighed. He crossed his arms as the door to the deck closed behind the retreating Autobot.

"Y'know, one of these days, that bot is gonna find something that pierces through his rusted out spark." Grapple remarked.

"Don't hold your code on that one." Hoist responded walking over to him. "That bot's a hard case to crack."

"Enough chatter." Preceptor interrupted, returning to their mission. "Prepare for landing."

Everyone went silent as they returned to their stations, beginning the landing procedures.

…

Down on the surface, a small tribe of humans gathered around a large camp fire, heating up some of the meat that the hunters had managed to bring back. Among these humans was a small girl, no older than 5 or 6 years old. She ran around the camp, smiling and laughing the entire time. The adults of the tribe watched her with kind smiles, rewarding her actions with small chuckles of their own.

However, the merriment soon ended as a strange rumbling echoed through the icy air. Fearing the noise to be from the many predators that stalked through the wilderness, the men all grabbed their weapons as the women rounded up the children. The young girl, however, managed to evade the attempts to catch her, darting into the bushes towards the source of the noise.

In a clearing not far from the human's encampment, the CORD ship touched down in the snow, much to its crew's excitement. Once they grabbed all their necessary equipment, they opened the hatch doors and set out to explore.

"Ratchet, you guard the ship." Preceptor ordered.

"With pleasure." Ratchet responded. "Remember to keep this excursion short. Prolonged exposure to these temperatures will freeze your circuits and cause total system shutdown."

Preceptor chuckled.

"And here I thought I was the one in charge." He remarked good-naturedly

…

The young girl watched in fascination as large creatures unlike any she had seen before descended from the belly of the strange beast they arrived in. As the last seemed to leave, the girl felt brave enough to leave her hiding place, brandishing a small spear for protection. Remembering the basics of hunting that her father had taught her, the girl slunk forward, keeping her body low as to avoid detection.

As she got closer to the strange beast, she held her staff in front of her, poking at its large tongue (the ramp leading inside). It made a strange sound, unlike anything the girl had heard before. It almost sounded like an echo in a cave, but with a higher pitch. Still, the strange tongue did not move, or show any sign that it noticed it was being poked. Confused, the girl ventured up the creature's tongue and into the belly of the beast itself.

…

Ratchet kept a steady eye on the life sign transmissions that he was receiving from the rest of the crew. It gave him something to do while he waited for them to return from their foolhardy mission. He let a small snort as he sat down, just staring at the monitors.

"Why did I agree to this?" he wondered aloud.

As he sat there, he felt something poke at his lower, right servo, a barely audible clicking accompanying the sensation. He ignored it, figuring he'd probably just brushed up against something. Then it happened a second time. Furrowing his faceplate, he looked down to see the cause of the sensation. Much to his surprise, he saw a tiny organic life form poking him with a stone tied to a stick.

"What in-"

He bent down as the creature leaned against his leg, knocking on it curiously with its tiny fists. She seemed to be listening to the echo caused by its actions. He should have been more than a little put off by the organic currently assaulting his foot, but instead, he found himself more curious then worried.

"Where did you come from?" he asked

The creature seemed to jump at the sound of his voice, looking up in shock. As if on instinct, the creature pointed its crude weapon up at him, waving it like it was a threat to him. It then began to yell at him, its words not making any sense to the Autobot, though its intent was clear.

"Strange little bug."

Ratchet flicked the weapon away from the creature, cutting off its unintelligible verbal threats. It quickly recovered its weapon, then looked up at the Autobot in what was supposed to be a threatening way, but it was obvious this creature was more curious than afraid.

"Ratchet!" the med bot heard Wheeljack call out.

The creature suddenly squeaked, hiding behind Ratchet's leg while still clutching that strange weapon. Ratchet quickly sat up, turning his attention back to the monitors while mentally cursing himself for getting distracted.

"You're back." Ratchet took note, his optic sensors never leaving the screens.

"We managed to find some pockets of vegetation, but the organic life forms seemed quite skittish of us." Grapple explained, his arms loaded with jars of different plants. "They all scattered before we could collect any."

"Though a few tried to throw these strange projectiles that they had created at us." Wheeljack noted, dropping a handful of spears into a specimen jar. "I suppose they must have seen us as a threat."

Ratchet found himself suddenly hyper aware of the tiny organic hiding behind his foot.

"I can't imagine why." Ratchet responded sarcastically, trying to think of anything but the creature.

Preceptor came aboard, followed by Hoist who closed the door behind him. He placed a few more specimen jars in their holders, including a few empty ones.

"I guess we'll have to return later for an organic specimen." Preceptor lamented. "But for now, we'll just have to make do with the vegetation we procured."

There was the sound of tiny footsteps, and Ratchet quickly noticed the tiny creature was no longer behind his foot. Instead, it seemed to be aiming its primitive weapon at Preceptor. It then threw the weapon with all its might, only for it to bounce off Preceptor without making a dent. However, the action did not go unnoticed by the Autobot. He turned, looking around curiously.

"What was that?" He questioned.

The little organic then let out a shout, drawing the attention of everyone. They all looked down to see it standing there, looking up at them with a curious look in its eye.

"Well," Preceptor said, turning to the small organic. "What have we here?"

It stumbled back a bit, its curiosity faltering as it stumbled back, running right into Ratchet's foot. She scrambled on top of the foot, leaning against Ratchet's leg as Hoist bend down.

"Ratchet, I do believe you have made a new friend." He quipped, giving the organic a quick scan.

"For your information, I did not make 'a new friend'." Ratchet replied indignantly. "This organic came onto the ship and attempted to threaten me with its little weapon."

"Well, you have to see this from its perspective." Hoist retorted. "We're large creatures that it has probably never seen before, so some hostility is to be expected."

"Though something tells me this one is more curious than hostile." Wheeljack noted. "Any idea what it is?"

"It seems to be a female humanoid, one of the organic life forms indigenous to this planet." Hoist remarked.

"And a young one at that." Grapple added. "She's far tinier than the ones we saw earlier."

"What are we gonna do with her?" Wheeljack asked.

The organic remained on Ratchet's leg, staring at the Autobots before smiling, giving a tiny wave. The med-bot lifted his foot, moving slowly so the organic didn't fall off.

"Hand me one of those specimen jars." He requested.

Preceptor snatched one from the shelf quickly, passing it to Ratchet. Still doing his best to maintain balance, he gently ushered the organic into the jar. She landed with a soft thud, looking around in fascination at the jar. As she acquainted herself with her new surroundings, Ratchet passed the jar to Wheeljack.

"You wanted an organic lifeform," he commented, gesturing to the small jar. "Well now you got one."

The four bot's looked at each other in surprise, then a smile graced their faceplates. Wheeljack held the jar still as the organic stared out at them, her eyes locking on Ratchet.

"Well then," Preceptor concluded. "I believe we are done here. Hoist, Grapple, prepare for takeoff. Wheeljack, help me secure the specimens."

"Right." Wheeljack confirmed as the others went to their stations.

As Ratchet went to return to his station, he found himself looking back at the specimen jars in Wheeljack's possession. The little organic didn't seem afraid at all, despite the fact that she was leaving her home planet, possibly for good. In fact, she seemed to be smiling, waving at Ratchet as Wheeljack walked off with her. Ratchet just ignored it as he went back to his work.

…

Back on Cybertron, the CORD scientists worked quickly to get their latest acquisitions into the safety of their facility. Cybertron's carbon monoxide atmosphere was deadly to organic lifeforms, and the last thing they wanted was for their sole sentient lifeform to perish. Thankfully, CORD was fully equipped with a biodome that was teeming with organic vegetation from various planets.

The specimen jars containing the earth plants were brought in and their contents added to the ever growing gallery of organic life. Then, Wheeljack brought in the little organic. From inside her specimen jar, she gasped at the sight of all the plants and animals. Preceptor noticed this and smiled.

"It would seem she's quite pleased with her new home." He commented.

"Her planet has been under a deep freeze for many stellar cycles." Hoist reminded him. "She may not have ever seen a place as green as our biodome."

Wheeljack released the lid of the jar, gently sliding the organic onto the ground. Once more, she landed with a thump, and once more she didn't seem even the slightest bit phased. She picked herself up off the ground before scampering off to explore. She climbed up the trees, peered in the bushes, and even explored the small stone cave that had been setup to shield the plants that preferred the dark. From the large grin on her face, it seemed she was quite pleased with it all. She attempted to express her feelings, but once more, her words were unfamiliar to her new caretakers.

"Remarkable specimen isn't it?" Preceptor asked.

"Quite." Wheeljack agreed. "Though the question arises, how are we going to provide it the nutrients it requires?"

"Already working on that." Hoist declared. "Scans of some of the plant life show that it is capable of producing matter fit for consumption by the organic. Using the lab's molecular reproduction machine, I can easily recreate enough sustenance for the human to consume."

"Impressive." Wheeljack complimented.

"Well if you don't need me anymore," Ratchet started to say. "I'll best be going."

"Oh come on, Ratchet." Grapple called. "Stick around for a bit. We were going to go down to the Energon pub to celebrate our latest findings."

The little organic seemed to furrow her brow, looking at the Autobots as they continued to talk.

"As 'tempting' as that sounds," Ratchet responded sarcastically. "I have some work I need to attend to."

He turned to walk out, but before he could, the organic spoke out once more. However, this time her message was understood by all.

"Ratchet!"

Ratchet and the others turned to see the organic hanging upside down from one of the branches of a tall tree, putting her at eye level with the Autobots. She was pointing at the medbot with a determined look.

"Ratchet!" she called out again before speaking in her native tongue once more.

"It can talk?" Ratchet marveled.

"It would appear so." Preceptor replied, equally shocked.

"And it seems to like you Ratchet." Wheeljack observed.

"Ratchet!" The organic declared, only proving Wheeljack correct.

"Seems you really did make a new friend, huh Ratchet." Hoist joked.

Ratchet was puzzled by this to say the least.

"Why me?" he asked.

Preceptor stroked his jaw servo, wondering the same thing.

"Perhaps because you were the first of us it saw, it formed some sort of connection with you."

"That's preposterous." Ratchet scoffed.

"Ratchet!" the human cheered.

The other Autobots chuckled.

"Well, how else would you explain that?" Wheeljack questioned.

"Well…. I..." Ratchet tried to explain.

"Ratchet." The little organic declared once more, pointing at the bot and then at herself. "Friend."

This earned an even greater amount of laughter from the other Autobots as Ratchet's expense. The med-bot felt his faceplate beginning to get warm.

"Yeah." Wheeljack noted. "Definitely likes you."

"Ugh…" Ratchet groaned. "That's it. I'm leaving."

He turned towards the airlock, preparing to leave, but Preceptor grabbed his servo before he could.

"Hang on, Ratchet." he insisted. "If this organic has taken a liking to you, we may be able to use that to our advantage. See how much she can learn, or comprehend. Promise you'll come by the lab, even if it's just once every decacycle."

Ratchet looked back at the organic smiling at him.

"Well…" Ratchet responded reluctantly. "I suppose."

"Yay! Ratchet!" The organic cheered again.

…

About a week later, the organic's mental development had shown to be even greater than the Autobots had anticipated. Preceptor guessed that it was because she was at a young enough age that it would be easy for her to learn. It had been difficult to decide what she would learn first, but they had eventually settled on basic communication skills first, specifically, the alphabet.

The organic was sitting on the ground in her biodome, her arms covered in mud she'd created and was using to write. She was very eager to learn, desperate to be able to communicate with the Autobots, so she paid extra attention.

"Ok," Hoist began to instruct holding a holopad. "Let's start with this."

He pointed to the first letter on the hollow pad and the organic wrote it on the wall of the cave.

"R?" she asked.

"Right." Hoist responded.

The organic smiled as she continued to write. As she did, Ratchet walked into the dome, grumbling about why he was doing this in the first place. His grumbles did not go unheard as Hoist turned to greet him.

"Welcome back Ratchet." The bot called out.

"Yes, yes, hi." Ratchet greeted begrudgingly.

"Ratchet!" The organic called, waving her muddy arms happily.

Hoist just smirked at this.

"Thanks again for agreeing to come." Hoist said gratefully. "I think you'll actually enjoy what I'm teaching the organic today."

"And what might that be?" Ratchet asked.

Hoist chuckled.

"How to spell your name." the bot answered.

Ratchet's optical sensors focused and refocused at that.

"What?" Ratchet asked, truly shocked.

Hoist gave a shrug.

"You seem to be perfect motivation to get her to learn."

"Well…" Ratchet tried to respond.

"Ratchet!" the organic cheered, pointing to the wall of her cave.

Ratchet and Hoist turned to see that the organic had spelled out Ratchet's name on the wall of the cave. However, there appeared to be several spelling mistakes, and the muddy letters were barely legible. Still, she seemed so proud of herself, a large grin on her face as she pointed at her work. Hoist chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, it's a work in progress." Hoist explained.

"Ratchet?" The organic called out questioningly. "Wrong?"

"Ugh…" Ratchet paused, rubbing his knuckles against his face plate before coming to a decision. "There's no 'I' in my name."

He then walked over to her cave, squatting down so he could get a closer look. She grinned as he did, plunging her arms into her mud puddle in anticipation.

"There's supposed to be an 'a' after the 'r'." he explained.

The human immediately drew an R, then an A, smiling happily as they awaited their next instruction.

"Then ugh... A 'T'." he resumed, mentally wondering why he was actually doing this.

She wrote out a T, then seemed to squint, as if trying to figure out the next bit on her own. Tentatively, she drew a C, looking up at Ratchet to make sure she got it right.

"Right." Ratchet confirmed. "Then an 'h' to make the 'ch' sound."

She happily drew the H, then started to think again. She went to draw, but found herself unsure if she was right.

"'E'" Ratchet voiced.

The little organic conked herself on the head, mud ending up halfway across her face. She chuckled when that happened, then drew the E. Finally, she added the last letter on her own, a T.

"Ratchet!" she declared happily.

"Right." Ratchet confirmed, smiling unknowingly.

Wheeljack let out a mock gasp as he entered the room.

"Well I'll be." The entering Autobot declared. "Ratchet IS capable of an emotion outside of disdain or annoyance."

Ratchet snapped back to reality and turned to see Wheeljack leaning against a wall with his arms crossed.

"I knew something would pierce that spark of yours." he commented. "Just never thought it would be an organic."

"I… don't know what you're talking about." Ratchet dismissed.

"Admit it, Ratchet." Hoist joked, rubbing the med bot. "You like the organic, don't you."

"Ratchet!" The organic called happily, still covered half in mud.

"I…" Ratchet said trying to think of an excuse. "... Have to go."

With that, he turned and walked out of the biodome, the airlock hissing shut behind him. The organic watched him go, cocking her head curiously.

"Ratchet?" she asked, pointing at the door.

"Don't worry, little organic." Wheeljack reassured. "He'll be back."

…

As Wheeljack predicted, Ratchet did come back. He came back many, many times, usually providing some sort of excuse for his presence. However, as time went on, he just stopped attempting to hide his true intentions for being in the lab. Somehow or another, he'd grown close to the little organic, who was slowly starting to become less and less little. In fact, she'd grown quite a bit in the three stellar cycles since she'd arrived on Cybertron.

As the med-bot entered the CORD laboratory, the organic's face lit up. She jumped out of the tree she had been perched in, landing in the waiting hand of Grapple, who had been continuing with her ever expanding education. He held the organic out for Ratchet, who held out his own hand for her to jump into.

"Hi Ratchet!" the organic called out, plopping down on his palm. "How are you?"

"Doing quite well." Ratchet responded, walking towards the tree she'd just been in. "What are you up to today?"

"Grapple was teaching me about the Autobots and how they work." She explained.

"Well then, guess it's a good thing I came by." Ratchet replied, sliding her off his palm and onto the ground. "Grapple may know his way around organics, but nobody knows Autobots better than me."

"He's right on that one." Grapple agreed. "Ratchet didn't become a Chief Medical officer for nothing."

The little organic climbed up the tree, settling down on a well-worn branch that sat just at eye level with a sitting Ratchet. The old medbot sat down, leaning against the trunk of the tree before he began.

"Now, the first thing you need to know about us Autobots is about our unique abilities." he began. "Specifically, our ability to enter what we call 'vehicle mode', as well as transform our hands into useful tools."

"Not just tools, Ratchet." Grapple reminded him. "The Elite Guard can create weapons as well as tools, remember."

"Believe me, I remember." Ratchet grumbled. "I'm usually the ones pounding the dents out of those hot shots when they mess around with them."

The organic plucked a large seed off of the tree she was sitting in, lobbing it at Ratchet's head. It bounced off his cheek, drawing the medbot's attention.

"What can you transform into?" she questioned curiously.

Ratchet stood up, then backed away from the tree. He then proceeded to transform into a medical transport vehicle in the blink of an eye. The organic gasped in amazement, her jaw dropping.

"Awesome!" she cheered.

Ratchet reverted back to robot mode, wiping some dirt from his servos as he did.

"My vehicle mode fits my designation as Chief Medical officer, and in it, I can transport injured Autobots to my medical pay to be repaired."

The organic turned to Grapple.

"What do you turn into?" she asked eagerly.

"I turn into a crane." He explained. "It makes me an essential part of the CORD exploration team, especially on rough terrain not suitable for our vehicle forms."

"But as I said earlier, our vehicle forms aren't the only transformations we can undergo." Ratchet continued, returning to his spot by the tree. "Our tools, or weapons in the case of those in the Elite Guard, are specially chosen to aid us in our given professions."

Before the little organic could ask, he transformed his hand into a welding torch.

"This is my tool." he explained.

"Mine's a grappling hook." Grapple added. "It's how I got my name actually."

"How do you do that?" The organic wondered. "How do you make those tools come out, and turn into your vehicle mode?"

"Well it's sort of a moving of the joints," Ratchet explained. "We picture what we want to transform, whether our tool or our vehicle mode, and our bodies adjust our servos in order to create the necessary transformation."

The organic looked at her own hands, then frowned.

"I wish I could do that." she muttered. "Maybe then I could come out of this dome."

"Some things are just meant to be I'm afraid." Ratchet lamented.

The organic looked deeply saddened, so Ratchet decided to switch things up a bit and ask her some questions.

"So what about your planet." Ratchet asked. "I never left the ship when we first arrived there, so I have no idea what it's like."

The organic shrugged.

"It was cold." she admitted. "But my people managed to survive."

"How?"

"Well, we learned ways to keep our…" she faltered, trying to find a Cybertronian word that fit what she was trying to say. "Fuel… from going bad, and our hunters helped us stay near our prey."

"Fascinating." Grapple remarked.

The three talked for what seemed like hours about Earth, Cybertron, and their respective differences.

"So Autobots never had to hunt for fuel?" she asked surprised.

"Not really." Ratchet answered. "Though we do occasionally consume oil as sustenance, Energon still remains our primary source of fuel, and Cybertron provides enough Energon for every Autobot on the planet."

"Wow." the organic said surprised. "All I eat are those strange cubes that Preceptor gives me. They're good and all, but sometimes I miss the fuel of my planet."

"I can imagine." Ratchet remarked.

At that same time, Preceptor and Wheeljack walked into the room.

"Yes I do wish we had the time to grab some of the other sentient lifeforms of your planet, this prey you talk of often." Preceptor lamented. "Frankly, we were lucky to get you."

"Well, we have been overdue for another expedition." Wheeljack pointed out. "But with everything that's been going on lately, I doubt the council would authorize it."

The organic looked up confused.

"Why not?" she asked. "I thought you said everybody was finally taking you guys seriously after they learned that I could… well… learn."

"They were." Ratchet confirmed. "But lately the council has been preoccupied by a growing political presence that they can't spare any time to hear from us."

The human looked confused, an expression that reminded Ratchet of his organic friend's youth and inexperience.

"There has been someone speaking out against Cybertron's leadership." He explained, "Someone who wants to change the way it works."

The organic seemed to understand that.

"The leader of my people would occasionally argue with the soldiers." she remembered. "The soldiers didn't always agree with the leader's decisions and wanted to change them."

"That is basically what is happening here." Ratchet replied, "This bot wants to change Cybertron completely and create a world where all Cybertronians are accepted as equals. At least that's the way he puts it."

The organic thought about that.

"That sounds good… but would it work?" she wondered. "If everyone is equal, then that means no leaders. Without leaders, nothing works properly."

"It's hard to say right now." Ratchet answered. "But this revolutionary's actions are consuming the time and attention of the council. Meaning we won't get authorization to return to Earth anytime soon."

There was a moment of silence, then the organic muttered something under her breath.

"Maybe if they saw me they'd let you go."

That idea sparked the interest of Preceptor and Wheeljack.

"Y'know… you may be right." Preceptor though aloud.

"Yeah, if they see the progress of our research," Wheeljack added. "Then they'd have to send us back for further study."

The organic suddenly lit up.

"You mean… I can see more of Cybertron?" she asked excitedly, "Cybertron that's not on a history vid?"

"Certainly." Preceptor said.

The little organic began cheering again, dancing around the biodome happily. This only cemented the decision to try. Preceptor looked over at Ratchet with a knowing smile.

"You know you're going to have to be the one to take her, right?" he told him.

"Very well." Ratchet relented with faux reluctance. "I'll need one of those specimen jars."

Preceptor went and got him one, setting it down on the ground. The little organic scrambled into it, practically jumping up and down as Ratchet sealed the lid.

"Hold on tightly, little organic." He told her.

He then transformed into his vehicle mode, her jar now nestled in his cargo department as he drove out of the biodome and out of the lab.

…

The organic marveled at the sights of Cybertron as Ratchet drove down the bustling street. She continually pointed at various buildings and structures, asking what each was. Thankfully, Ratchet had most of the answers. Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, he was happy the organic was having a good time.

Eventually, the two reached their destination, and the little organic had her face practically pressed against the glass of her jar.

"What's this building, Ratchet?" she asked.

"The Iacon council building." Ratchet explained. "It's where the high council members convene and discuss the matters of Cybertron."

"No wonder it's so big." The organic remarked.

As Ratchet pulled up to the building, he transformed into his robot mode, catching his friend's jar before it could fall. As he walked in, he was surprised by how crowded the council building was. Autobots of all professions and designations were packed into the building to observe the proceedings.

"It seems that council is in session." Ratchet remarked.

"But why is it so crowded?" The organic questioned.

"This is an outrage!" A voice yelled out from the main part of the building.

The organic flinched at the shout and Ratchet's metallic digits tightened unconsciously around the jar.

"Because that revolutionary I told you about is addressing the council." The med-bot explained.

Ratchet maneuvered his way through the crowd until he was standing at the railing of an observation gallery, looking down at the council. They were a group of Autobots, all of them seated in a semi-circle overlooking a single, silver bot.

"Outrage you say?" the bot repeated. "Is it an outrage to demand change? To demand a new future for Cybertron?"

"The future you describe is barbaric!" the councilmen stated. "To suggest that our Elite guard, the Elite guard that has protected Cybertron for centuries, be removed."

"Not removed." The silver bot corrected. "More adequately… terminated."

The organic gasped, a reaction matched by many members of the observing Autobots and the council.

"Terminated… That's not good." The organic whispered. "Without the Elite Guard to protect Cybertron-"

"I know." Ratchet interrupted.

"You're insane Megatron!" another councilman shouted. "How would Cybertron be defended without the Elite Guard?"

"A new system would be imposed." The silver bot, Megatron, answered. "One made of powerful warriors capable of enforcing the law and will of Cybertron. Without hesitation, or mercy."

"A system like that would require the guidance of a Prime." one of the councilors argued. "And there has not been a Prime for countless years."

"Then perhaps that should change." Megatron retorted.

This caused a stir from the crowd. The word Prime was thrown around greatly throughout the hushed discussions. The organic looked up at Ratchet in confusion and curiosity.

"What is he saying?" The organic whispered. "What's a Prime?"

"The Primes were the first of our race, and the original leaders of Cybertron." Ratchet explained. "There were originally thirteen Primes that formed the first council, but they went offline mega-cycles ago."

"And who would that prime be?" the councilman demanded. "You?"

"Well if you insist," Megatron responded mockingly. "I humbly accept the nomination."

The organic banged her fist against the glass of her jar.

"That Megatron's got a few glitches in his processor if he thinks the council will make him a Prime." she exclaimed. "He'd bring Cybertron to ruin."

"I couldn't have put it better myself." Ratchet agreed.

"Who do you think you are?" the councilman asked furious. "To come here and make such demands of this council!"

"Someone who is tired of this council hoarding its power over Cybertron!" Megatron answered. "It's time for a change. The time has come for action not words. Cybertron needs a strong, capable leader, and my time is now!"

"Wait!" a voice called out.

Everyone present gasped in surprise, turning to the source of the voice. From the shadows, a red and blue bot emerged, coming to stand next to Megatron. The organic squinted through the glass at the bot, not recognizing him.

"Who's that?" she asked, pointing at the newcomer.

"Is that…?" Ratchet began, squinting to get a closer look. "It is. It's Orion."

"Who?" the organic asked again.

"Orion Pax," Ratchet clarified. "A data clerk in the Iacon Hall of Records. He's a friend of mine."

"High council," Orion addressed. "Forgive my interruption, but I have something to say."

The council members looked at each other for a moment.

"You may speak." one member relented.

"Thank you." Orion responded. "While I do agree with Megatron that there is a need for change on Cybertron, the way he means to go about it is wrong."

This infuriated Megatron, and Orion's next words didn't help any.

"I have worked as a data clerk in the Iacon Hall of Records for stellar cycles, and in studying Cybertron's history, I have noticed a constant. Whenever evil threatened our world, be it Unicron or the Quintessons, all of them were beaten because the forces that opposed them, like the original thirteen primes and the warriors that would one day become The Elite Guard, banded together to repel those threats. We need a system like that again, where fellow bots depend on one another for support and protection. A system where no bot in power is of higher importance than another, but all have equal rights and privileges. If we can work to make this happen, we can create a world of peace, happiness, justice, and prosperity. A world where all are one.

This received a resounding applause from the entire assembly present, the organic included.

"They should make him a Prime." she told Ratchet. "His idea would work, wouldn't it?"

"I think it would, little one." Ratchet agreed.

"If there is to be a new Prime," one councilman, named Alpha Trion, spoke. "Then I believe it to be Orion Pax. Such words of wisdom have not been uttered in these halls since Cybertron's golden age."

The organic punched the air

"Yes!" she cheered.

"Hold you voice box Alpha Trion!" another councilman spoke. "One does not simply name a Prime!"

"You heard what he said." Alpha Trion responded. "Who would be more worthy?"

"You know as well as I that one can only obtain that title by finding the Matrix of Leadership."

The organic looked up at Ratchet in confusion.

"Matrix of Leadership?" she asked.

"An ancient relic passed down from Prime to Prime." Ratchet exposited. "It is said to contain the collective wisdom of the original Primes."

"Sounds important." The organic mulled over. "They should give it to him."

"I'm sure they would if they could." Ratchet replied. "Unfortunately it has been lost for thousands of mega-cycles."

"Well then, maybe they need to find it." The organic retorted. "I bet Orion could find it."

Ratchet scoffed.

"You make it sounds so easy." Ratchet dismissed. "Cybertronians have been looking for the Matrix for stellar cycles and have never found it."

The organic chuckled.

"You just haven't looked hard enough." She informed him, crossing her arms.

"I think we have." He replied, unable to keep the smirk off his face.

"So this was your intention, Orion!" Megatron yelled. "To humiliate me in front of the council and rob me of my destiny?!"

"Megatron I-" Orion tried to explain.

"Leave me Orion." Megatron stated, pushing past the bot towards the exit.

Megatron's chosen path led him past Ratchet and the organic. As he passed, she blew a raspberry at him, giving him a smug smirk. The action elicited a snarl from Megatron, which scared the organic more than a bit. She huddled close to the edge of her jar, where Ratchet's hand covered the glass. He gave her a snort of derision before resuming his exit.

"I don't like that guy." the organic voiced, peeking through Ratchet's fingers.

"Agreed." Ratchet concurred. "Though I don't think now is the best time to make our appeal to the council. They have enough to deal with."

The organic nodded.

"Let's go back to the lab." she agreed.

Ratchet then exited the building and drove back to the lab, both he and the organic sharing feelings of nervousness about what had occurred. Though they hoped this session would be the last they heard of Megatron, they both had a feeling that the bot had something diabolical planned.


	2. What's in Your Spark

A few days after his humiliation at the Iacon council, Megatron gathered his followers and launched an attack. This offensive turned into the first battle in an all-out war for control of Cybertron. Every capable Autobot was called into service to deal with the growing menace, now known as Decepticons.

During this time, severe damage was done to the core of the planet, and the data clerk Orion Pax ventured there to try and repair the ill effects. As he stood in front of the heart of Primus himself, the ancient Autobot detected the innate spark in Orion. For his bravery, compassion, and heroism, Primus bestowed upon the unsuspecting Autobot the Matrix of Leadership. It was here that a very surprised and humbled Orion Pax became the greatest hero of the Autobots, Optimus Prime.

With the impromptu coronation of Optimus, Megatron's war efforts doubled. In the eyes of the mad Decepticon, Optimus had just robbed him of his right to rule. Determined to see his former friend suffer, Megatron led his army into countless battles that spanned over the stellar cycles. Thousands of bots sacrificed their sparks on either side of this conflict, fighting for control over cities, supplies, and everything else imaginable.

…

Ten stellar cycles into the War for Cybertron, the Decepticons launched an offensive on the city of Iacon, determined to claim it in the name of Megatron. Vehicons marched towards the city in innumerable masses, flyers passing above them while dropping missiles and plasma fire upon the Autobots. The Autobots returned this assault with one of their own, the Elite Guard charging to meet the oncoming hoards, and soldiers manning turrets to try and hit the descending Decepticons.

Amongst the flyers laying siege to the city were two unmistakable Decepticons. One was Starscream, the Captain of Megatron's Seeker division, and the other was Massacre, Megatron's second in command. The two sent missile after missile down at the Autobots, Massacre let out a cruel cackle, transforming as she landed on the spire of a building. Starscream landed as well, the two cons looking down at the carnage.

"Look at them all." Massacre chuckled darkly. "Nothing but pieces of scrap to be tossed onto the heap."

Starscream chuckled at his superior's description. Though he may not get along with most of the Decepticons, Massacre was one of the few that he tolerated for their shared sadism when it came to the Autobots.

"And there are those who say I have a way with words." He commented.

Starscream gazed down at the battlefield again, sending down a few shots with Massacre doing the same. They both thoroughly enjoyed the sight of the bots falling to their assault, and then a certain figure caught Starscream's eye.

"Well, well." He voiced. "What have we here?"

Massacre turned her gaze towards where Starscream was looking, squinting into the distance. A cruel smile graced her face as she saw a familiar blue and red bot leading the charge.

"As I live and process." she said. "Optimus Prime himself."

Starscream saw the gleam in her optic sensors, that sadistic spark he knew he could use to his advantage. After all, just because he tolerated Massacre's existence doesn't mean he wouldn't use her to further his own game.

"How fitting that the greatest Decepticon warrior and the leader of the Autobots should be in the same place together." Starscream told her, smiling maliciously.

Massacre paused, turning to her fellow con with a suspicious look.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her voice conveying her suspicions.

"Well… Just imagine the thrill of the hunt." He told her, his voiced laced with a persuasive edge that cut through Massacre's suspicion. "The glory of the battle. The praise of Lord Megatron. You could actually be the one to cripple the Autobots…. By eliminating their leader."

Massacre smirked as Starscream's proposition. The very idea sent sparks coursing through her system. She held up her arms, transforming them into heavy machine guns as a grin plastered itself onto her faceplate.

"Then why are we still standing here like a bunch of Vehicons?" she demanded.

"After you, 'Commander'." Starscream offered.

Massacre jumped down from her vantage point and blasted at any Autobot she set her sights on.

…

Down below, Optimus was pinned down by heavy Decepticon fire, forced to hide behind a destroyed building. He fired around the corner of the building, taking down a dozen Vehicons before being forced back behind the wall.

"This is Optimus Prime!" he voiced over comms. "I need additional support at my location! Now!"

" _This is Arcee, reporting in with Bumblebee and Cliffjumper._ " a female voice replied. " _We're on our way._ "

"Hurry!" Optimus yelled before standing up and firing his blaster at some cons.

From across Iacon, Arcee led her two companion towards Optimus' position. Unfortunately, this put them right in Massacre's line of sight. The two fem-bots had a history across the war, both of them harboring a deep hatred for one another. When the con saw her coming to Optimus' aid, Massacre shifted her arms into her most powerful weapon, the Ion cannon.

"Sorry, Arcee." the Decepticon sneered, her arms coming together to form the cannon. "Looks like you won't be escaping me this time."

Arcee heard the ever familiar sound of the ion cannon being powered up, and immediately panicked. She had seen the devastation that weapon could inflict, and had lost her previous partner Tailgate to the cruel con's cannon.

"Everybody move!" she screamed.

Massacre fired the Ion cannon right in the middle of the three Autobots, which caused a shockwave that sent them all flying in different directions and leaving a large crater in the ground. Once the smoke cleared, Massacre jumped down into the crater, surveying the damage done before going over to the Autobot closest to her, Cliffjumper.

"Hey there, hot shot." she taunted, grabbing the bot by the metal horns that protruded from his head. "Gotta say, out of all the partners Arcee's had, you're definitely the best looking."

"Thanks… but you're not… my type." Cliffjumper joked through the cloud of pain scrambling his circuits.

Massacre cackled, which began to rouse Arcee from her stupor. She looked up at the Decepticon, her optic circuits widening.

"No!" She screamed.

Massacre turned to Arcee, smirking.

"Arcee, so glad you're online." She called out, dragging Cliffjumper over to where Arcee lay prone. "I was just getting acquainted with your new partner."

"Take your servos off of him!" Arcee demanded, trying to rise to her feet.

Massacre just laughed, bringing her foot down hard on Arcee's chest plate, forcing her back onto the ground. Arcee struggled under Massacre's foot, trying to transform her arms, but finding it difficult to concentrate. Massacre snickered, then turned her free arm into its machine gun form, leveling the barrel of the gun with Cliffjumper's spark chamber.

"Any last words, Autobot?" she asked.

Before he could get a word out, Massacre let off one long, consecutive chain of blasts. In that instant Cliffjumper's spark was extinguished. Arcee let out a scream of anger as she attempted to free herself from Massacre's foot. However, the Decepticon just grabbed her, holding her up in the air as she aimed her gun at the captive Autobot.

"So many partners." She lamented, her voice laced with sarcasm and cruelty. "Tailgate, now Cliffjumper, not to mention all those poor little bots who were barely growing into their protoforms."

"I'll snuff your spark myself you glitch!" Arcee screamed.

Massacre cackled, preparing to fire.

"Somehow, I highly doubt that."

"Massacre!" a voice shouted.

Both fem-bots turned to see Optimus running towards them, skidding to a stop as he aimed his blaster right at the Decepticon. Massacre's grin grew even more malicious as she dropped Arcee, turning towards Optimus with a cocky stance.

"Optimus," Massacre greeted, holding her arms out wide. "Just the bot I wanted to see."

"What do you want, Massacre?" he demanded.

"Oh, a few things actually." She replied, counting them out on her fingers. "Your destruction, to watch Arcee cry over her latest partner. Oh! And this."

She aimed her gun at Bumblebee, who was trying to sneak attack her, sending several rounds through the yellow Autobot's neck. That's when Optimus took a swing at her, sending her colliding into a wall. She pulled herself free, grinning like a mad-bot.

"And here we go." she declared, firing at Optimus.

Optimus quickly ran away from the oncoming fire, sending a few blasts of his own her way. She, however was quick to dodge, and even quicker to return fire. Prime took cover behind some debris as Massacre refused to let up her attacks.

"You will not win here, Massacre!" Prime shouted.

"We'll see about that!" Massacre shouted.

" _Massacre!_ " Megatron shouted over comms. " _What is going on down there? Why haven't you secured Iacon?!_ "

"Because I'm about to bring an even greater victory to the Decepticons!" Massacre declared, still firing on Optimus. "The end of Optimus Prime!"

" _What?!_ " Megatron demanded.

"Don't worry, my lord." she assured him. "I'll bring you back his head as a trophy, after I send the rest of him to the scrap heap!"

" _Do not underestimate him!_ " he ordered. " _Fall back. Now!_ "

"Have some faith in me, Megatron!" she admonished him, continuing her assault. "I was built for this! If I can't take out a made up data clerk, then I deserve to be sent to the Well of All Sparks."

While she was distracted, Optimus leapt over his shielding, transformed into his truck mode and charged towards Massacre. He rammed into her at full speed, causing her to bounce a bit before falling on her back. Furious, she transformed into jet mode and blasted into the air. Once she got high enough altitude, she released several missiles in Optimus' direction. Optimus drove off, swerving out of the way of all oncoming missiles, except one that went off right next to him. The resulting blast caused him to flip and transform back into robot mode before crashing hard on the ground. As he got on one knee, Massacre landed right in front of him, weapons aimed right at his face plate.

"Your reign is at an end, Optimus Prime." she told him, powering up her weapon. "And it wasn't short enough."

"Neither was your master's reign of terror." He responded.

He quickly transformed his arm into his sword, slicing off Massacre's hand in one swift motion. She screamed in pain, clutching her sparking stump before turning to Optimus angrily. She lifted her other hand, weaponizing it into a sword as well.

"I was going to make your death quick." she told him. "Now you'll suffer!"

She brought her sword hand down on him only for him to block it with his sword. The two traded blows with their blades until they were locked, the two staring each other down. Optimus used this opportunity to transform his free hand into a blaster and aim it at her spark. She barely had time to move before the blast hit. Though she managed to prevent her spark from being 100% destroyed, it sustained significant damage, causing her to fall to her knees.

"M-Megatron." she stammered, Energon pouring from her gaping wound.

"Your dark master cannot help you." he informed.

She chuckled, Energon dripping down her chin as she gave one final smile.

"We'll… s-see..."

The light faded from her eyes as she fell forward, her spark extinguished. Back up top, Starscream looked upon his fallen comrade, unable to keep the smirk off of his face plate.

"Such a pity." he said with false sincerity.

He then transformed into a Cybertronian jet and flew off to bear the news to Megatron. Back on the ground, Optimus continued to look down at his fallen enemy. Around him, the vehicons that had not fallen were retreating, taking with them the Decepticons that led them.

"Optimus Prime to all units," he called out over comms. "Iacon is ours."

While many Autobots cheered at the victory, Arcee held her fallen partner, pounding the ground in anger. Bumblebee laid on the ground, a pool of Energon around him, and yet, surprisingly, he was still functional.

"Ratchet, you're needed!" Optimus frantically called out.

Ratchet rolled up in his vehicle form before transforming quickly, examining the downed Autobot.

"He's still online, thank the Allspark," Ratchet observed. "But his voice box has sustained severe damage. I need to get him back to my lab immediately."

"Ironhide," Prime called over comms. "I need a medical transport immediately."

"On its way Prime!" Ironhide responded.

As the Autobots retreated with Bumblebee, they left Massacre's shell out on the battle field. Several vehicons came up to the shell of Massacre, collecting her, and her severed hand. Undetected, they disappeared from the city.

…

"Unbelievable!" Megatron shouted as Starscream reported what happened.

"Master, I-" Starscream tried to explain.

Before he could continue, Megatron smacked him halfway across the room. The Decepticon landed hard, nearly snapping a wing on impact. He groaned slightly, then let out a whimpering cry as Megatron stalked towards him.

"I ordered her to pull out!" Megatron said aggravated. "And what did you do Starscream? Nothing! Now I have lost my second in command, and one of my finest warriors!"

"I am sorry master." Starscream apologized, backing away on all fours. "I had such confidence in her skills. I thought for sure she would rid you of Optimus Prime."

He finally reached the wall, trying to press himself against it as Megatron loomed over him.

"No one rids me of Optimus Prime but me!" Megatron yelled, slamming his fists into the wall mere inches from Starscream's faceplate. "Do you understand me?! Do you?!"

Starscream quickly nodded, stammering out his understanding. Megatron then turned away from Starscream, allowing the con to get to his feet once more.

"Now, I must find a suitable replacement for Massacre." He snarled. "I cannot go without a second in command, not this early in the war."

Starscream gulped, then stood up, deciding to try and take a chance. However, before he could utter a single word, Shockwave spoke out.

"Actually, My Lord, you may not have to." He declared.

Both Starscream and Megatron turn towards the purple, one-eyed Decepticon as he came into the room. Though he lacked any features in the screen that served as his face plate, the gleam in his solitary eye showed a cockiness of someone who was sure of themselves, and of what they had to say.

"And why is that, Shockwave?" Starscream questioned, more than a bit put off by Shockwave's interruption. "Surely you're not suggesting yourself as a possible candidate."

"Far from it, I assure you." Shockwave replied. "After all, why replace when you can revive?"

This threw the two cons for a loop. Megatron's optic sensors narrowed as he tried to figure out the meaning of Shockwave's words. Thankfully, the con didn't leave his Master in the dark for long.

"Do you remember the tale of Dead End?" Shockwave asked.

"Yes, yes, we've all heard the story." Starscream replied, his voice laced with annoyance. "The Cybertronian that sought to keep himself from the Well of All Sparks. Every bot hears the story."

"Indulge me, Captain." Shockwave requested. "Please."

"Let him speak, Starscream." Megatron declared.

"Thank you, Milord." Shockwave said before going into the tale. "As Starscream so eloquently put it, Dead End sought a way to save himself from the inevitable shutdown all bots must enter. In his desperation, he found a way to rekindle the power of his spark, by using protoforms."

Shockwave tapped a button on his arm, activating a holographic projection that displayed several calculations.

"I've crunched the numbers, and I do believe that Dead End's method could actually work." He declared.

Megatron's fists tightened with a squeak of metal.

"Whether it works or not, we do not have any protoforms to test!" Megatron snapped. "The assault of Iacon would have provided us with the necessary supplies, but-"

"But thankfully, I have an alternative solution to that as well." Shockwave interjected.

"What, more young-bot fairytales?" Starscream asked with heavy sarcasm.

"No, something different." Shockwave replied.

He typed on his arm again, bringing up a new set of calculations and notes, this time done by another bot. From the signature in the corner, Megatron and Starscream could see that it was written by Preceptor.

"I have been working for some time to try and find a way around our lack of protoforms, and in my study, I found what has been dubbed the Organic Energon Theory." Shockwave explained. "Preceptor, the Autobot head of the Cybertron Organic Research Division, theorized that certain organic specimens could be used to create a synthesized Energon. He also believed that certain sentient organic beings could also possess the spark of life needed to act as a rudimentary protoform… in a pinch of course."

"As… fascinating as this all is," Starscream remarked, "I fail to see how this helps us, especially since there are no organics on Cybertron!"

"Be silent, Starscream." Megatron ordered, old memories flitting through his processor. "I know of one such organic."

Starscream blinked in surprise, turning to his master.

"Master, are you honestly thinking about-"

"I said be silent!" Megatron shouted.

Starscream flinched hard, stumbling back and holding his arms up to defend himself. Megatron sneered, then waved him off.

"Both of you, leave me." He ordered. "And send for Blitzwing. I have a mission for him."

…

The little organic, though nowadays she was just called The Organic, ran along the thick branches of the various trees around her dome, launching herself from tree to tree. Occasionally, she would take hold of thick vines and swing across the dome, releasing the vine so she could rebound off of the glass walls before landing on the ground in a triumphant pose.

Hoist, who had been coming in with her daily sustenance cubes, applauded her show with a grin. She bowed, then sauntered over to the bot, nimbly climbing up the tree closest to him.

"Seems you're finding all new ways to keep yourself entertained while we're away." The bot remarked, handing her the cube.

"You should see the inside of my cave." The organic replied, taking a bite of the cube. "I've covered every rock in some form of drawing. I've even cleaned off the older ones to make room for newer ones."

"If I could fit, I most likely would." Hoist told her.

"I was gonna move to the outside of the cave, but I just couldn't bring myself to erase it." The organic explained.

She gestured to the outside of her cave, which still bore the muddy writing from her first attempts at Cybertronian letters. She let out a sigh, thinking of how long it had been since Ratchet had visited. Being the Chief Medical Officer, it was no surprise when he ended up being called to the front.

"Any news on Ratchet today?" She asked, trying to sound nonchalant about it.

Hoist chuckled, but before he could answer her inquiry, there was a knock at the door of the lab. Hoist looked through the dome, more than a bit confused. He turned and left the biodome, heading to the door as the organic approached the glass. Hoist opened the door to the lab, and the second he did, a rapid burst of laser fire reduced his chest plate to scrap metal.

"Hoist!" The organic screamed as the Autobot fell.

From the doorway, a light brown bot emerged, twin guns on his shoulders smoking from the onslaught. His face was a black screen with red, pixilated eyes and a pixilated, jagged mouth. As the guns moved back into place, the bot let out a cackle.

"Well that was easier than expected!" He declared, his voice slightly crackled.

The bot then turned to the dome to see the organic staring at him in horror. His pixilated eyes locked onto her, then his face began to spin rapidly. When it stopped spinning, the pixilated face had been replaced with a light purple one that had an eye that resembled a monocle.

"The organic Lord Megatron requested." He mused, his voice more refines and calm. "This certainly makes my job easier."

He turned towards a shelf that held several empty specimen jars, grabbing one. The organic's eyes went wide as she backed away, bolting for her cave. The bot's face spun again, this time settling on a red face with a big chin, a gap tooth, and a long visor for eyes.

"Come back here you little insect!" he shouted, his voice louder, deeper, and with a menacing edge.

The organic scrambled into the cave as the airlock opened up, allowing the Decepticon to enter. He reached into the cave, trying to reach her, but unfortunately the cave was barely big enough for him to fit his arm in. In anger, the con gripped the cave, wrenching it from the ground and exposing the organic. She barely had time to scream before he slammed the jar down over her, trapping her. He scooped her up and closed the lid, his face returning to his purple one.

"I don't see why something so puny can be of such importance to lord Megatron, but it's not my place to question him." He remarked.

As he said this, a grappling hook shot towards the organic's jar, catching it and pulling it from the bot's grip. The jar was then pulled into the arms of Grapple, who was glaring at the con with a vengeful gaze.

"Blitzwing…" he swore.

Blitzwing's face spun again, the red one making a reappearance.

"Hand over the organic, Autobot!" He demanded.

"You want her?" Grapple asked, holding her jar close. "You'll have to pry this jar from my cold, offline servos."

Once more, Blitzwing's face returned to its purple one, his shoulder guns lowering. Rather than let out a burst of laser fire, a sub-zero ray shot out, coating Grapple's body in thick ice. The ice creeped onto the edges of the jar by the time he ceased firing, leaving Grapple a frozen Autobot-sicle. Blitzwing walked over, snapping the organic's jar free of Grapple's frozen servos, his face becoming pixilated.

"Well it's not exactly offline," he lamented, pushing on Grapple's head to send him falling over, "But it's definitely cold!"

Grapple's frozen form shattered into scrap metal on impact, various bits of him scattering across the biodome. The organic screamed, banging against the glass of her jar as the con activated his wings, flying through the glass of the dome and into the sky. The organic should have been terrified, but seeing her friends destroyed like they were nothing had her blood boiling.

"You three-faced son of a glitch!" she screamed. "I hope you rust in some scrap heap for all eternity!"

"Mute it, insect!" Blitzwing's red face demanded.

To ensure his orders were obeyed, the con gave the jar a solid shake, sending the hapless organic flying into the glass hard. She slumped hard, her eyes rolling back in her head as she fell into unconsciousness.

…

The organic slowly came to, her head pounding and a large knot forming on her head. She sat up, rubbing her forehead as her vision began to clear. She was still in her jar, but her Decepticon captor was no longer flying. Instead, he was marching through a long, darkened hallway of an eerily lit building.

"Wh-Where are we?" The organic whimpered.

"Kaon." Blitzwing's purple face explained. "The Decepticon capital, and the last thing you will ever see."

The organic gulped hard, huddling against the glass as Blitzwing brought her into a large room that almost looked like a medical bay. Two bots were standing over a large table where a fem-bot laid prone and lifeless. Though the organic didn't recognize the one-eyed bot, the second bot she recognized all too well.

"One organic, just like you wanted Lord Megatron!" Blitzwing's pixilated face declared, holding out the organic's jar.

Megatron turned to Blitzwing, his optic sensors locking onto the organic as she let out a terrified squeak. He grinned at her, revealed rows of sharp, metallic teeth that made the Decepticon appear all the more menacing.

"Excellent." Megatron responded, taking the jar from Blitzwing. "Hello little one. Perhaps you remember me?"

The organic was pretty sure she'd just pissed herself, and every fiber of her being wanted to just curl up in a ball and disappear. However, she forced herself to appear strong, the images of Grapple and Hoist fueling her anger.

"I remember you." She told him, swallowing hard to try and make her voice steady. "I remember seeing you at the Iacon council meeting. I also remember doing this after you stormed out."

She blew a raspberry at Megatron, earning a snicker from Blitzwing's pixelated face. Megatron shot Blitzwing an angry look, signaling him to shut up. The bot instantly got the message, switching back to his purple face as Megatron glared at the jar.

"You're lucky I require you online, or I would personally leave you to suffocate." He growled at her.

"Perhaps I should take the specimen before you accidentally destroy it." The one-eyed bot suggested, "That spark of life is what we needs to revive Massacre."

The organic looked at the one-eyed bot, then her eyes slowly drifted to the fem-bot on the table. There were fresh welding marks on her arm where the limb had been reattached, and extensive repairs on her chest were abundantly clear. Still, despite the obvious attempts to repair her, it was clear that she was offline.

"Massacre…" The organic whispered, remembering the footage of her from the vids she'd seen. "She's-"

"Offline." Megatron sneered. "Felled by Optimus Prime…"

The organic snorted.

"Good riddance." She told him, meeting his optic sensors defiantly. "One less Decepticon on the planet."

"For now." Megatron admitted before turning to the one-eyed bot. "Shockwave, prepare of protoform infusion."

If Shockwave had a mouth, he probably would have been grinning. The organic's eyes widened as she tried to push herself into the glass of her jar.

"Protoform?!" she repeated. "You're trying Preceptor's Organic Energon theory?! It's never been tested! It may not even work!"

"It's about to be." Megatron said, grinning cruelly. "Do it!"

Shockwave opened the jar, dumping the organic into the open protoform depository on Massacre's chest. The organic could only hold her breath as Shockwave shut the compartment and walked over to a console beside Massacre's shell.

"Commencing organic infusion." He declared, pulling a switch.

The organic tried to get out, but was barely able to keep holding her breath. However, she didn't have to do it for much longer before thousands upon thousands of volts of electricity began to course through her body. She screamed in agony as the process did its job, bringing Massacre back to life.

…

Megatron watched at Massacre's optic sensors snapped open. He smiled at the experiments apparent success as the fem-bot sat up, looking at her servos in fascination.

"How… is this possible?" she asked, turning her hands slowly and flexing her digits.

"Welcome back to the land of moving parts, Massacre." Megatron greeted.

Massacre looked up at him, then stood up. She stumbled slightly, catching herself on the table before she face planted. Megatron watched her steady herself, then straighten up.

"Megatron…" she said softly, her optic sensors scanning the room. "I have something to tell you."

Megatron chuckled as Massacre gave him a strange grin. Then, she blew a raspberry at him, her metallic tongue clicking against her teeth seconds before her metallic fist connected with his faceplate. The con hit the ground as Massacre took off in a dead sprint towards the entrance. Both Megatron and Shockwave were stunned, though the former quickly became pissed.

"Shockwave! What have you done?!"

"Th-the organic…" Shockwave stammered out "Its consciousness must have- taken over Massacre's offline processor."

Megatron let out a howl of rage before getting onto the Decepticon comm links.

"Megatron to all Decepticons!" he called. "Massacre has been infected with an organic virus! Capture her at all costs! I want her online!"

…

Massacre, or more appropriately, the organic in Massacre's body, ran as fast as she could, cursing how loud her new mechanical limbs were. Under better circumstances, she probably would have tried to get used to what had happened, but the blaring alarms echoing through the facility made it all too clear that time was luxury she didn't have.

"I have to get out of here." She whispered. "But where's the fracking exit?"

As she streaked around a corner, she nearly ran head on into a platoon of vehicons. They all aimed their weapons at her, their featureless faceplates displaying no emotion. She gulped, slowly raising her servos before an idea formed.

"Picture the weapon in your mind, and it will appear." she whispered, thinking back to everything Ratchet had taught her.

She closed her optic sensors, remembering the war vids she'd watched, and all the times the evil Massacre had appeared. She remembered the twin machine guns that decorated her arms, focusing on that image. The metal plates on her arms moved and shifted, transforming them into the large machine guns. The vehicons all seemed to falter as Massacre smirked.

"See ya!" she practically screamed.

She opened fire, reducing the vehicons to scrap metal as she continued to try and find her way out of the building. She continued running when several blaster shots came from behind her. She turned around to see Starscream and several other vehicons chasing after her.

"This can't be good." she muttered, taking cover behind a wall.

She powered up her machine guns, coming out from behind her wall and taking aim at Starscream. He ducked for cover as Massacre opened fire. The vehicons were mauled down, but Starscream was able to return fire, forcing Massacre to take cover herself.

"Scrap..." she swore, "How am I supposed to beat him? He's an actual Decepticon, and I'm not. I'd need one heck of a weapon."

That's when she remembered something that the evil Massacre had used before. A devastating cannon that could easily wipe out any who opposed her. Focusing on the image, her arms began to transform, locking together to form the large, cannon-like weapon.

"Perfect." She whispered

She came out of her cover and charged up her weapon, aiming it right at Starscream. The Decepticon took one look at it and nearly lost his oil.

"SCRAP!" he shrieked.

She shot the weapon right at Starscream, blowing his incoming reinforcements, the wall, and half of the building center to bits. Starscream had been able to dive for cover, but was focused more on escaping from Massacre rather than catching her. As Massacre's arms returned to normal, she looked at the wall and grinned.

"There's my way out." She said with no small amount of relief.

Knowing that time was of the essence, Massacre focused on images of evil Massacre's vehicle mode, a slick Decepticon jet built for speed. Her entire body began to shift and morph, which completely freaked her out, but she couldn't afford to let herself succumb to her fear. The second she fully transformed, she floored it, taking off into the sky.

…

Back in the med bay, Megatron waited for news of Massacre's capture. When the comm crackled to life, he immediately spoke up.

"Have you caught her yet?!" Megatron demanded.

" _I'm sorry, Lord Megatron._ " Starscream's voice answered. " _But she- She managed to escape._ "

Megatron's teeth clenched and his fists tightened.

"Deploy your fleets, Starscream!" Megatron demanded. "Do not let her enter Autobot-controlled Cybertron!"

" _A-as you command, Master._ " Starscream replied.

Megatron cut communications, turning to Shockwave slowly. The Decepticon scientist tried to back away, but was stopped by his livid Master. The con's claws dug into the metal of Shockwave's arms, leaving deep gouges

"You… You cost me my greatest soldier!"

"M-Master, I-I swear on the Allspark, I never meant for this to happen!" Shockwave pleaded.

"You told me that your plan would restore my second in command, and now some organic virus has overtaken her system, turning our greatest weapon against us!" Megatron screamed.

"I couldn't have known what would happen!" Shockwave tried to explain. "Please Master!"

Megatron wanted nothing more than to rip out his spark, but he also knew that Shockwave's words rang with truth. The process had never been tested, and side effects were to be expected. His rage calmed somewhat, though he was far from a forgiving mood.

"While that may be true, this egregious oversight must not go unpunished."

With one hand still gripping Shockwave's arm, Megatron turned his free hand into a long sword, one that sliced through Shockwave's arm in a spray of Energon. The Decepticon howled in pain as Megatron crushed the severed appendage in his grip.

"Be grateful I'm sparing your pathetic life." Megatron snarled. "And pray that Starscream succeeds in cleaning up your mess!"

…

Massacre landed hard in a barren area of Cybertron, transforming back into her robotic form as she flopped onto the ground. She was breathing hard as she sat up, struggling to her feet as she tried to figure out where she was. Unfortunately, she'd been unconscious during her flight to Kaon, and she'd never been able to see much of Cybertron outside of Iacon.

"Scrap…" she swore, leaning against a metallic ridge. "What am I gonna do?"

The sound of approaching jets spurred her into motion, taking cover behind the ridge as a hoard of flying vehicons passed overhead, Starscream at their head. Panic began to set in as she hid.

"The Decepticons…" she whispered. "They'll turn me into scrap metal if they find me, and the Autobots would do the same… Scrap…"

She hugged her legs, trying desperately to come up with a plan and wishing she was back in her biosphere back in CORD. Thinking back to CORD reminded Massacre of her Autobot friends, Preceptor, Wheeljack, Grapple, Hoist, and then finally, Ratchet.

"Ratchet…" she said softly, an idea coming to her. "Ratchet could help me… He could fix me, get me out of this Decepticon."

She tapped the side of her head like she'd seen her friends do constantly when using their comms.

"I just hope he's somewhere near CORD." She prayed as she input the frequency.


	3. Processor Over Matter

Ratchet pulled up to the CORD facility, having practically sped there after learning about Blitzwing's attack on the building. He transformed into his robot mode, his jaw hinge dropping when he saw the devastation on the building.

"By the Allspark..." he swore.

He entered the facility, his eye immediately falling on the remains of Hoist. His chest plate had been reduced to bits of metal that now floated in the pool of Energon that had gathered beneath him. Preceptor was standing over him, his fists clenched and his optic sensors shut.

"Blitzwing..." the usually stoic scientist scowled.

"Where's Grapple?" Ratchet questioned, dreading the answer.

"In here." Wheeljack called from inside the biodome.

Ratchet entered the biodome, immediately seeing the remains of Grapple. The pools of liquid around his scattered parts made his cause of death too easy to tell and made the med-bot feel sick to his oil reserve. He turned away from the fallen Autobot towards Wheeljack, who was just staring at his fallen brethren.

"Why did they do this?" Ratchet questioned. "I always assumed CORD would be the last target on Megatron's sick mind."

"Apparently not..." Wheeljack muttered. "The cons killed Hoist and Grapple, then they made off with the organic."

Ratchet's optic sensors then drifted to the overturned cave, a lump of fear settling in his chest plate.

"Why would the cons take her?" He questioned.

"I wish we knew..." Preceptor admitted.

As they spoke, Ratchet's comm link began to squawk and chirp, a garbled voice trying to speak through a cloud of static.

"What in the name of Primus…?" Ratchet questioned, tapping his audio receptor. "Hello?"

Through the static, Ratchet heard a fem-bot voice calling out, a voice he recognized all too well.

" _Ratchet!_ " Massacre cried through the comm. " _Please, come in!_ "

Ratchet's optic sensors widened as realization dawned.

"Massacre!" he exclaimed. "How are you still online, and how did you get this frequency?!"

Both Preceptor and Wheeljack jolted at the mention of the Decepticon's name. Without any prompting, they both tapped into Ratchet's comm link so they could hear what the fem-bot had to say.

" _Ratchet, listen, I don't know how long I have._ " Massacre spoke quickly. " _Preceptor's Organic theory, the one about organic protoforms? It worked._ "

"My theory?" Preceptor questioned.

"That's why Blitzwing took the organic." Wheeljack realized.

" _Listen, it worked, but there was a side effect._ " Massacre continued, talking even faster. " _Massacre, the real Massacre, she's gone. I'm the little organic. My consciousness is in charge of her body. Please, you have to believe me!_ "

Ratchet let out a laugh.

"Believe a Decepticon?" He asked, his voice hard and distrustful. "Why in the name of Primus should I-"

" _I hid behind your foot when we first met._ " Massacre interrupted. " _My first Cybertronian word was your name. When you took me to the Iacon Council before the war started, I told you that Orion Pax could find the Matrix of Leadership even though you said it had been missing for mega-cycles!_ "

Ratchet fell silent, unable to believe his own audio-receptors. He exchanged glances with Preceptor and Wheeljack, who were equally floored. The things Massacre was describing were events and information that she had no way of knowing, unless she truly was the organic.

"It is you..." Ratchet let out. "You're online..."

" _Not for long._ " Massacre replied as the sound of jet engines filled the comm link. " _Megatron's furious that I escaped and I've got cons trying to find me._ "

Her voice seemed to catch and the fear coursing through her system became all too obvious.

" _I don't know where I am, I don't know how long I can evade the cons, and I know that even if I find my way to Iacon-_ "

"The Elite Guard would terminate you before you even reached the Great Dome." Wheeljack finished for her.

" _Please..._ " Massacre begged. " _I need help..._ "

"Don't worry, little one." Ratchet assured her. "I'll make sure you get to safety, even if I have to come find you myself."

Massacre went to reply, but instead she let out a yelp, the line suddenly cutting off. With a sliver a fear working through his shell, Ratchet transformed, rolling out with Preceptor and Wheeljack right behind him.

…

Optimus stood in the war room, looking over a large holographic map of Cybertron. Around him were his most trusted Lieutenants; Ironhide, Jazz, and Ultra Magnus. Though the Autobots had been victorious in protecting Iacon, the recent attack on CORD had made it quite clear that there was still a great deal of work to do before the war could come to an end.

Optimus barely heard the doors to the war room open, though he did hear the sound of his friend Ratchet screeching to a halt in his vehicle mode. He looked up as Ratchet entered his robot mode, the look on his faceplate showing a great deal of distress.

"Ratchet, is everything alright?" Optimus questions.

"I'm afraid not, Optimus." The Med-bot replied. "I need to speak to you, in private if possible."

Optimus turned to his lieutenants, who all wordlessly stood up and left the room. Wheeljack and Preceptor entered not long after, sealing the doors behind them.

"Is this about Bumblebee?" Optimus asked.

"No, the young scout will be fine, albeit mute I'm afraid." Ratchet assured him. "This visit is about something else."

"We're here about what happened back at our facility." Wheeljack explained.

"Yes, I heard about Grapple and Hoist." Optimus replied, looking down sadly. "You have my condolences for their loss."

"Optimus, you remember the little organic CORD had on sight?" Ratchet asked.

"How could I forget?" Optimus answered, a rare smile gracing his face plate. "You have told me many fond stories of her."

"Well, it would seem that she managed to survive the attack, though not entirely unscathed." Ratchet continued.

Optimus' metallic eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Preceptor quickly stepped in to explain.

"I'm not sure how, but the Decepticons managed to get ahold of my Organic Energon theory." He declared. "Megatron thought the organic could be used to revive Massacre, and he was both right and wrong."

"Massacre is online?!" Optimus exclaimed.

"Yes, and no." Wheeljack replied. "Apparently, the organic's consciousness has taken hold of the con and is running the show."

Optimus looked at Wheeljack, his confusion and horror giving way to suspicion and trepidation. The bots knew that it wasn't directed at them, but at what they had just suggested.

"Ratchet, are you sure about this?" He asked, "It is no secret that you care for the organic, and I fear that Massacre may be trying to use that sentiment against you."

"Believe me, I was skeptical too." Ratchet told him. "But she knew things, things only the organic could have possibly known. I don't know how it happened, but my friend is alive, and she needs help."

"She said that cons were trying to find her, and we could hear them in the background." Wheeljack added.

"Optimus, if the organic really is inside Massacre, we can't just stand idly by while Megatron does Primus knows what to her."

Optimus mulled this over, looking at the three bots before his optic sensors settled on his old friend.

"I am not saying we shouldn't look into this," Optimus decided, "but we will take all necessary precautions. Ironhide and I will accompany you to Massacre's location."

"Optimus, you're going?" Ratchet questioned.

"I've extinguished her spark before," Optimus explained, "and if this proves to be a trap, I will do so again."

…

Huddled in her hiding spot along the ridge, Massacre waited. Every servo in her body wanted nothing more than to run for the hills, but she knew that if she was to get away online, she had to wait for Ratchet. Her audio receptors picked up a strange sound, almost like the one her cannon made when she powered it up. However, this sound was far louder and deeper, and its source became quite apparent rather quickly.

A large, swirling green portal opened up behind Massacre, bathing her ridge in the vortex of light, she peaked around her ridge to see three bots emerging from the light. One was a large red bot that was twice as big as any bot she'd ever seen. The second was a blue and red bot that she did recognize, and the third was a familiar faceplate that she was so happy to see.

"Autobots, fan out." Optimus addressed the two bots he was with. "And Ironhide, this is a search and rescue mission until I deem it otherwise. That means you do not engage Massacre."

"I hear ya." Ironhide told Optimus. "I may not like this, but ya ain't led me astray so far."

Massacre took a deep breath, then called out.

"I'm over here."

The three bots paused, both Optimus and Ironhide bringing out their weapons. Massacre flinched at the sounds, but forced herself to stay calm.

"Come out with your servos up." Ironhide ordered.

Massacre slowly got to her feet, lifting her hands up in a pacifying gesture as she came into view of the Autobots. She locked gazes with Ratchet, giving him a small smile.

"Hey Ratchet." she said softly. "Thanks for coming."

"You think I'd let my friend rust away in that sadistic con's body?" Ratchet questioned.

"Hold Ratchet." Optimus warned. "While I trust your judgement, until we can be certain she is no threat to us, necessary precautions must be taken."

Ironhide reached for his hip, pulling out a pair of cuffs hooked onto it. Before he could even take one step towards Massacre, a voice called out from the skies.

"Optimus Prime!" Starscream called out. "Thank you so much for finding our wayward Decepticon!"

The four bots turned as Starscream landed behind them, a platoon of vehicons behind him. They all aimed their weapons at the bots, Optimus and Ironhide doing the same. Ratchet instinctively moved himself between the cons and Massacre.

"Hand over my virus-ridden comrade, Autobots." Starscream ordered.

"And let you erase the last trace of my organic friend?" Ratchet balked. "Not on your spark."

"You know, I was hoping you'd say that." Starscream grinned.

Starscream and the vehicons unleashed a volley of laser fire on the bots, Optimus and Ironhide returning fire. Ratchet led Massacre behind a building as the blaster fire went wild.

Ironhide spun his cannons before letting loose on the Decepticons. One by one, the Vehicons hit the ground, but continued to pour in to aid Starscream. Seeing no end to the onslaught of enemies, Optimus made a decision.

"Jazz, we need a Groundbridge." he declared into his

" _On its way!_ " Jazz replied.

"Prime, you sure bringing her back to Iacon is a good idea?" Ironhide questioned, glancing back at the building where Ratchet and Massacre were crouched.

"We don't have choice." Optimus replied. "We're outnumbered here."

The swirling green portal returned, appearing behind Ratchet and Massacre.

"Autobots, fall back!" Optimus ordered.

Ratchet grabbed Massacre's arm, pulling her towards the portal urgently. She stumbled after him, looking back at Ironhide and Optimus. She didn't have long before she was pulled into the swirling mass of light. Once they were through, both Optimus and Ironhide followed suit, keeping their backs to the portals and their guns firing at the vehicons and Starscream.

"Don't let them escape!" Starscream howled.

"Too late, Decepticon!" Ironhide shouted back.

Together, he and Optimus disappeared into the portal, the lights closing up seconds before the first Vehicon could touch it. Starscream lowered his gun, a feeling of dread seeping into his spark chamber.

"Scrap." He swore, his voice an octave higher than normal.

…

Ratchet and Massacre appeared on the other end of the Groundbridge, stumbling as they did. Ratchet managed to steady himself easily, used to traveling via Groundbridge to aid fallen bots. Massacre, who'd never traveled through one before, promptly landed on her face. Before she could get up, every bot in the control room had their weapons up, aimed right at her.

"Put it in neutral, Massacre." Jazz ordered.

Massacre looked up nervously, remaining on the ground with her hands planted firmly in front of her. Ratchet stepped in between his fellow bots and Massacre.

"There's no need for that." He assured them. "She doesn't mean us any harm."

"Ratchet, have you blown a fuse?!" Arcee exclaimed, her optic sensors never leaving Massacre's frozen form. "That's Massacre, Megatron's second in command! Do you not remember how many bots she's terminated, the amount of Energon she has on her servos?!"

About that time, Optimus and Ironhide appeared in the Groundbridge, the portal closing behind them.

"Everybody, stand down." Optimus ordered.

"Optimus," Arcee sputtered, "you can't be-"

"I said stand down, Arcee." Optimus interrupted.

Arcee paused, the reluctantly stepped back, though her weapons remained trained on Massacre. She was not the only one who remained wary of the Decepticon, but none of them seemed actively prepared to attack. Optimus knew this would be the closest he would get to getting them to back down and decided to proceed.

"Ironhide, escort Massacre and Ratchet to the medical bay." He requested. "Preceptor, Wheeljack, your expertise may help to solve this mystery sooner rather than later."

Ironhide pulled the cuffs off his hip once more, quickly cuffing Massacre's hands in front of her and hauling her to her feet. The bots in the room parted ranks as he led her away, Ratchet and the two scientists right on his tailpipe.

"Optimus, are you certain about this." Jazz asked. "I know you trust Ratchet, but this is Massacre we're talking about.

"Starscream called Massacre virus-ridden." Optimus remembered. "It's likely he was speaking of Ratchet's organic friend, and if that is true, then I owe it to Ratchet to give him a chance to aid her."

"If you say so Prime." Jazz relented.

"Besides, if Ratchet's organic friend is now in control, then Massacre may no longer be one of our most feared enemies. In fact, I believe she may become one of our greatest assets."

…

Ironhide waited outside of Ratchet's medical lab, allowing the four bots some privacy. Massacre looked around, a small smile on her faceplate.

"It's definitely different from CORD." she commented as she was placed against an operating table.

"CORD was a scientific laboratory." Ratchet reminded her, activating a set of emergency restraints on the table to seal her to it. "This is a medical lab. Two different functions, two different layouts."

"Right, makes sense." she allowed, testing her restraints a bit.

"Sorry about these." Ratchet apologized as he removed the cuffs on her wrists, moving them into the proper position on the table.

"Ratchet, I've seen the vids of what Massacre has done to the Autobots." She replied. "You'd be stupid not to take precautions."

Preceptor approached the table, loosening a panel on the side of Massacre's head while Wheeljack grabbed some wires from a machine.

"We'll need to take a peek in your processor to see exactly what's happened to you." he told her as he inserted the wires. "It won't hurt, promise."

"Like that time you promised me it wouldn't hurt when you tried to fix my leg when I fell off the top of my cave?" Massacre questioned, raising a metallic eyebrow.

Wheeljack paused as Preceptor chuckled, visibly relaxing at the mention of the incident. It was one only the organic could have known about, and it helped to confirm that the bot in front of them was truly housing their organic friend.

"I'm sure this time will be much different." Preceptor assured her.

"He's right." Ratchet agreed, attaching two large tubes to Massacre's chest plate. "For this to work, I need to induce stasis."

"You'll power down for a few kliks while we see what's going on in your processor." Preceptor informed her.

Massacre looked over at Ratchet, who was standing over the controls to the stasis machine. He looked over at her, giving her a patient smile.

"Alright, do it." Massacre declared.

Ratchet flipped on the machine, watching as Massacre's optic sensors closed as she entered stasis mode. He moved back to the first machine, bringing up several life signals on a holographic screen. He tapped on one, bringing up what appeared to be an image of Massacre's processor. Ratchet examined it closely, Preceptor and Wheeljack coming up behind him.

"What're we looking at, Ratch?" Wheeljack questioned.

"You see this mass of coding here?" Ratchet asked, pointing to a seemingly random splotch of green code practically covering the processor. "I believe that this is the organic's consciousness, reduced to Cybertronian coding after the infusion process."

"So, can we get her out?" Preceptor wondered.

"I'm afraid that's going to be impossible." Ratchet lamented. "For all intents and purposes, she is a virus infecting Massacre's system. Removing her without completely erasing her… and even if by some miracle we did manage to remove her, it's not like we can just put her back in her old body."

"The process would have completely disintegrated her body, turning it into Energon to fuel the process." Preceptor rationalized.

"So, we can't do scrap to help her?" Wheeljack snapped. "She's stuck inside that- that-"

"Easy Wheeljack." Ratchet told him. "We have to see the positive side to all this."

"What positive side?" Wheeljack demanded.

"I think he means that with the organic in control of Massacre's body, the con we all know and loathe is gone."

…

Inside Massacre's processor, the organic dreamed of her biodome back at CORD. She ran about the dome, jumping around from tree to tree and laughing. She was completely aware that she was dreaming, but that knowledge didn't deter her from enjoying herself. She landed in her triumphant pose, her laugher dying off slightly as she sighed.

"This is so surreal." she mused, looking around the landscape. "I guess while in stasis, you can dream but you know you're dreaming."

She went to fall into the grass, but rather than land on the soft foliage, she instead found herself landing hard on something metal. She winced and sat up, rubbing the back of her head.

"What the-"

She looked down and gasped hard, scrambling backward. Emerging from the ground was a metallic hand with long, sharp fingers. Said fingers clawed at the dirt, scrambling for some kind of purchase in order to pull themselves free. The organic kept backing away, eventually hitting the wall of her dome as she watched a fem-bot begin to push her way through the grass. She sat up, her red optic sensors scanning her surroundings.

"What in the name of Unicron is this place?" she demanded.

The organic stared at the fem-bot, recognizing who she was.

"Massacre..." she whimpered.

Massacre turned towards the organic, her optic sensors narrowing at the sight of her. She snarled and grabbed the organic, pulling her closer. As she did this, the biodome seemed to slowly fade out of existence, crumbling away to reveal a much darker, Cybertronian landscape. Both Massacre and the organic noticed this, the former coming to a startling realization.

"This isn't real, is it?" the fem-bot questioned. "This is all in my mind."

She looked down at the organic in her grasp, then at the slowly dying plants around her.

"And you… what are you?" she snapped.

Massacre squeezed the organic, eliciting a yelp from her and causing the plants to die ever faster.

…

On the screen displaying Massacre's processor, the green mass of coding began to shrink. As this began, the sensors began to beep frantically, alerting the three bots to what was going on. Ratchet's optic sensors widened at the sight as panic began to set in.

"No… This can't be!" he exclaimed.

"What's going on, Ratchet?" Preceptor questioned.

"I spoke too soon." Ratchet muttered, looking back at Massacre. "The con's online in there, and her system is trying to purge the organic!"

Massacre's body began to spasm, pulling against the restraints holding her. The two tubes keeping her in stasis flew off as her optic sensors snapped open. She yanked at her restraints, trying desperately to escape. At the sound of her struggles, Ironhide came in, his guns out seconds before the bonds snapped.

"Get down!" Ironhide ordered.

Ratchet knew Ironhide well enough to know he planned to use lethal means of taking down Massacre. He also knew that if he didn't act fast, his organic friend truly would be gone. Acting fast, he slammed his hand on an emergency button, an energy shield coming down around Massacre's table. Massacre's fists slammed against it as Ironhide's blast were absorbed by the shield.

"Ratchet, what are you doing?!" Ironhide demanded.

"The organic is still in there!" Ratchet argued, pointing to the screen. "She's in there, and she's fighting!"

Massacre cackled.

"The organic?" she mused, grinning cruelly. "So, that's what the little insect infecting my processor is. Maybe I'll keep her around so she can watch me extinguish your spark."

As she said this, the green code on the display ceased being pushed back. Instead, it seemed to be at a standstill. Massacre froze, her metallic eyebrows furrowing and her hands shaking. Ironhide watched the con confused, though the other three bots seemed to understand what was going on.

"I think she heard you, Massacre." Wheeljack commented with a smirk.

"And I think she's got a different idea." Preceptor added.

Massacre stumbled backward, hitting the table and clutching her processor.

"No…" she muttered, wrenching the wires from her processor in the process, "this- isn't- You're just an organic-"

Her head snapped back and she blinked several times. She looked over at Ratchet, her optic sensors filled with fear and strain rather than the malice and hatred from before.

"Ratchet..." she said through gritted teeth. "She's… too strong… I can't… hold her..."

Ratchet pulled down a lever, filling the shielded area with a stasis-inducing gas. Massacre slid to her knees, a grateful smile on her face before she returned to stasis. The four bots stared for a minute as the gas dissipated, Ratchet releasing the field. Ironhide moved quickly, cuffing Massacre's arms again and even adding a clamp to her wings as an added measure.

"Ratchet, I'm sorry, but I have to lock her up properly." Ironhide informed her. "Massacre is online, and if we give her even a small degree of freedom-"

"I know." Ratchet interjected. "Do what you must, but please… don't hurt her."

Ironhide gave a small nod, Preceptor and Wheeljack helping him drag the unconscious con out of the lab. Ratchet watched them, then looked back at the screen. It was flashing error messages all across, the wires laying sparking on the ground. In a fit of rage unbecoming of the med-bot, Ratchet's fists clenched and he slammed them on the table, shouting in anger as he did.

…

News of the incident reached Optimus rather quickly, as well as how poorly his friend was taking it. Feeling the need to ensure Ratchet was doing alright, Optimus made his way towards Ratchet's medical lab. The door hissed open, revealing the med-bot standing in front of his large computer terminal. He had several files up on screen, scanning through them at a record pace. Optimus gave his friend a quick glance over, unable to hold in the sigh of relief when he realized that he was unharmed.

"Need anything Optimus?" Ratchet questioned, his optic sensors never leaving the screen.

"I just came to see if you were alright." Optimus answered, coming up beside Ratchet.

"Alright?" Ratchet scoffed. "Optimus, I can repair any limb damage you give me. I can reattach a neural network while in power-down mode. Most physical damage done to a bot, I can repair, but I can't even help my organic friend."

Optimus placed a hand on Ratchet's shoulder plate in an attempt to calm the med-bot. As he did, he caught a glance of one of the many tabs open on the terminal. Almost every file was on organic viruses, mental maladies, and even some theories on consciousness transfers.

"Ratchet, you're doing everything you can-"

"And it's not enough!" Ratchet exclaimed, batting Optimus' hand off his shoulder. "Everything I've found is absolutely useless! Meanwhile, my friend is forced into a mental battle she never asked for against a Decepticon that should have remained offline!"

Optimus clutched his friend's arms, forcing the med-bot to look at him.

"Ratchet..." Optimus began, speaking calmly and softly. "None of this is your fault, and blaming yourself for something out of your servos will not help the organic."

Ratchet was silent for a moment, letting Optimus' words sink in. He took a deep breath, then his frame visibly relaxed. Optimus released his arms, though kept his optic sensors on the med-bot.

"I'm sorry..." Ratchet said softly. "I just… I wish I could help her, but all of my research comes to the same conclusion: Removing the organic's consciousness from Massacre is impossible, and attempting to remove Massacre could delete the organic."

There was a hiss as the doors to the med-bay opened, allowing in a small, two wheeler. Said two wheeler transformed into a sleek black and golden Autobot with a long visor for eyes.

"Optimus," the bot greeted. "I apologized for interrupting, but I couldn't help but overhear."

"It's alright Prowl." Optimus replied. "What do you need?"

"I heard about what happened with Massacre, and how Ratchet's organic friend appears to be actively trying to maintain control. Though I may not be a medical bot like Ratchet, I think I may have a technique that could aid the organic in her fight."

"Help her?" Ratchet questioned. "I want to remove her."

"And I have no doubt that you will find a way, old friend." Optimus assured him. "However, until you do, perhaps allowing Prowl to aid her in maintaining control would be a wise course of action."

Ratchet looked at Prowl, then over at Optimus.

"Alright." Ratchet decided. "You can help. Primus knows I'm completely out of my element here."

Prowl smiled, giving Ratchet a nod.

"Your friend will succeed." Prowl assured him. "I have faith in her."

Prowl transformed back into his two-wheeler mode, rolling out. Ratchet watched him go before resuming his research.

"As do I." he murmured

…

Down in the Autobot Stockades, Massacre sat in the center of a barren cell. Her weapons had been disabled, her wrists were still cuffed, and the clamp remained locked on her wings. However, these precautions were useless in the battle waging inside Massacre's processor. After Massacre's threat of terminating Ratchet, the organic had started fighting back against the cruel con.

In her desperate attempt to protect her friend, the organic had learned that she could manipulate the mental background, much like how Massacre had when she appeared. She had summoned several different plants she had interacted with back in the dome, using them to restrain Massacre and maintain a tentative hold on control.

"Pathetic organic virus." Massacre taunted, snapping several tree roots trying to hold her back. "You think you can keep me from reclaiming my body?"

The organic gritted her teeth and thrusted her arms out, causing more roots to replace the ones that had snapped. Massacre was wrenched back, her metallic teeth gnashing in anger.

"I will reclaim control," Massacre promised, "and when I do, I'm going to tear every single Autobot apart. Starting with that med-bot you seem to care about."

The organic's fists clenched and the grip of the roots grew tighter.

"Keep talking, you sadistic glitch." she growled. "You're making this fight so much easier."

While this mental fight raged inside Massacre's processor, her body remained completely still, save for slight twitching of her metallic eyebrows. This was how Prowl found her as he approached the electric field that prevented her from leaving the cell.

Unsure of how to address the bot before him, Prowl opted to lightly knock on the side of the door frame. The sound of metal on metal snapped the bot back to reality. Her gaze fell on the two wheeler, and Prowl was relieved to see a softness in her optic sensors, revealing the organic as the current dominant persona.

"Greetings." Prowl said curtly, giving a small nod.

"Hi." Massacre replied, remaining where she was. "Who're you?"

"My name is Prowl." the two-wheeler explained. "I'm a cyber-ninja, and a member of Optimus Prime's stealth team."

"A ninja?" Massacre repeated. "Why are you here? You're obviously not hear to terminate me, or else you wouldn't be talking to me."

Prowl gave a small nod.

"I'm not here to hurt you." he assured her. "Quite the opposite actually. I'm here to help you."

"How?" Massacre asked, "Do you have a way to remove Massacre?"

"I'm sorry, but no." Prowl replied, "However, I may have a way to aid you in your mental battle."

Massacre looked up a bit, watching as Prowl sat down on the opposite side of the field.

"Back when I was training under Master Yoketron, he taught me an advanced technique known as Processor over Matter. It will allow you to strengthen your hold over Massacre's body, as well as her spark. With time and patience, you may even become strong enough to erase her for good."

Massacre's optic sensors became a bit brighter at the prospect.

"What do I need to do?" she asked.

Prowl smiled slightly, then got into a meditative position. Massacre followed suit as best she could with her cuffs and wing clamp.

"Now close your eyes." Prowl instructed.

Massacre did as she was told.

"Now focus." he continued. "Focus on my voice. Let the rest of the world face away."

She took a deep breath, the faint humming of the electrical barrier slowly fading from her audio receptors.

"Now repeat after me." Prowl called out. "I control Massacre, Massacre doesn't control me."

"I control Massacre," she began. "Massacre doesn't control me."

"Keep going." Prowl urged her. "As long as you keep this in mind, the Decepticon will never see the light of day again."

Massacre continued repeating the mantra over and over again. As she was in the middle of her third repetition, her entire frame tensed. Her metallic teeth gritted, then her head snapped up. Her gaze fell on Prowl, her eyes brimming with seething hatred.

"Do you really think some organic virus can keep me down with some silly words?" she hissed, "This is my body, and I am going to reclaim it!"

"This is a battle you have already lost." Prowl informed the evil Massacre. "The organic will prevail. I have faith in her."

As if spurred by Prowl's words, Massacre's head snapped back once more, her optic sensors remaining closed.

"I control Massacre." she hissed, her hands clenched tightly. "Massacre doesn't control me."

"That's it." Prowl encouraged. "Don't let her get to you. Keep fighting, no matter what."

Inside Massacre's processor, Massacre struggled against the mental vines keeping her from regaining control. The organic had assumed a position similar to the one the bot's body was in, repeating the mantra and strengthening the grip of the vines.

"This will never work!" Massacre screamed, trying to break the organic's concentration and free herself. "Even if you spend Mega-cycles repeating that blasted mantra, I will never be silenced! I will free myself!"

The organic looked at the bot with a determined expression on her face.

"No matter how long it takes, or how many times I have to force you down, I will never stop fighting you." The organic promised. "You will never hurt any of my friends again. Never."


	4. The Energon Crisis

It took many stellar cycles, as well as a few emergency medical trips for Prowl and a couple of stockade guards, but the organic's conscious was eventually able to fully suppress Massacre's will. During this time, the organic adopted Massacre's name as a way of stripping any power from the cruel Decepticon. Now, she was laid out on Ratchet's examination table, still stasis locked to it for safety precautions, as the med-bot gave her a quick processor scan.

"How's it lookin', Ratchet?" Massacre questioned.

Ratchet smiled at the screen, which was displaying a full scan of Massacre's processor. The green organic code was covering about 97% of the CPU, more than Ratchet could have hoped for.

"I do believe it is safe to say that the Decepticon has been successfully suppressed." he declared, shutting off the machine and gently removing the wires from her head.

"Prowl was right." Massacre replied, smiling widely. "With patience and perseverance, I would succeed."

"Indeed." Ratchet agreed, freeing her from the table. "I doubt you'll be needing these anymore."

Massacre rubbed her wrists them slid off of the table. Ratchet took the opportunity to remove the clamp on her wings. She spread them stretching and letting out a sigh of relief.

"Thank the Allspark." she said as she relaxed. "That thing gave me a crick like nobody's business. Feels good to finally have it off."

"Why didn't you say something before?" Ratchet questioned, checking Massacre's back to make sure no damage had been done.

"Honestly, because I knew that with the clamp on, everyone felt safer around me." she replied with a shrug.

Ratchet just sighed as the door to the med-bay opened. The two bots turned to see Optimus Prime walking in. When he saw Massacre free of restraints, he smiled, knowing what that meant.

"It would seem our Massacre problem has been resolved." Optimus observed.

"Yes it has, thank the Allspark." Ratchet replied.

"Yep," Massacre added. "And it's a good thing you walked in when you did. Saved me the trouble of trying to find you to tell you the good news."

"Well there was actually something I wanted to talk to you about." Optimus said.

Ratchet paused what he was doing and Massacre turned towards Optimus curiously.

"What is it?" she asked.

"For too long, this war has ravaged our planet, and even after all these stellar cycles, there is still no end in sight." Optimus explained. "We need every able-bodied bot on the front lines if we are to stand any chance of winning this war."

"What are you getting at, Prime?" Ratchet questioned, turning back towards his friend. "Are you saying you want to put Massacre on the battlefield?"

"If she is will to join our cause, then I would welcome her openly." Optimus confirmed.

"You'd be willing to let me fight?" Massacre asked.

Ratchet turned to Massacre in surprise.

"You want to join this conflict?" he questioned.

Massacre turned to him, a determined look on her faceplate.

"Yes I do." she replied. "Massacre used to be a Decepticon that murdered innocent Autobots. But now I'm in control, and I want to protect my home, and my friends. I want to be an Autobot."

Optimus allowed a small smile to cross his face.

"I am glad to hear that." he informed her. "However, you being allowed to join the war effort does not come without a few conditions."

Massacre nodded, having expected as much.

"Name them." she replied.

"First, your Ion cannon." he addressed. "It is a powerful weapon, but it is one that should only be used as a last resort. Moreover, even with the Decepticon inside you suppressed, I cannot in good conscience allow even the slightest chance that she could use it against us again."

"What do you suggest?" Massacre questioned.

Ratchet provided the answer to that inquiry.

"I may be able to install and override system into the cannon." he suggested. "That way it can only be accessed after a remote code is sent in."

"Excellent idea, Ratchet." Optimus told the med-bot. "While you work on that, perhaps you can also do something about the symbol on her chest."

Massacre's fingers ran along the Decepticon symbol still emblazoned on her chest plate. Ratchet looked at it and nodded.

"Honestly, I should have removed that symbol the first day she was in my Lab." he muttered.

As they discussed this, a question popped into Massacre's mind.

"Umm, Optimus?" she called out hesitantly. "As much as I would love to fight for the Autobots, I can count on a single hand the number of bots that actually trust me. Who would be willing to fight alongside a former Decepticon?"

"The Decepticon who has slaughtered so many of our kind is long gone." Optimus reassured. "All I see in her place is a being who cares for this world and desires to fight for its survival. And while it will take some time, I know other Autobots will see the same."

Massacre allowed these words to sink in, a hopeful smile on her face.

"I hope you're right, Optimus." she told him.

"Of course he's right." Ratchet remarked, placing a hand on her shoulder plate. "Now, lay back down on the table. We've got work to do."

…

As Massacre had predicted, many of the Autobots weren't exactly thrilled to have her on their team. She lost count of how many snide comments and cruel remarks were said behind her back, but she refused to let them get to her. Instead, she decided to let her actions prove her intent.

She worked her way up the ranks, earning everything that she got. She never asked for help, but eagerly gave it. After awhile, a few brave bots approached her, giving her pointers and lending a hand. Once or twice, she could see an Autobot take down a foe before they could shoot her down.

In time, the actions of her Decepticon counterpart were set aside, giving way for a greater appreciation for the Autobot side of her. Soon, she became a valued asset of the Autobot cause, and found her place amongst the toughest group of Bots in existence.

…

Several centuries into the war for Cybertron, the Decepticons were making a move for Tyger Pax. The cons had the Autobots pinned down behind a ridge, the two sides trading fire while narrowly avoiding getting scrapped.

Leading the charge was Ironhide, leader of the notorious team known as the Wreckers. They were the toughest, gutsiest group of bots on Cybertron, and it was no surprise that they were behind such an operation.

"Keep pushing, Wreckers!" Ironhide declared. "We can't lose Tyger Pax!"

Bulkhead, a large green bot with a wrecking ball as a signature weapon, swung his ball wildly, sending several Vehicons to the scrapheap. Watching his tailpipe was Kup, one of the older members of the Wreckers with his arm cannon mowing down vehicons left and right. Seaspray, a newer recruit who'd made a name for himself in Aquatron, remained pinned behind some debris.

"I'm stuck!" He cried out, trying to make a run for it, only to be forced back down. "Could really use an assist!"

From across the battlefield, Springer came crashing through a wall of vehicons, his car mode running them all over as he went to aid his trapped comrade.

"Come on, rookie!" he shouted over the blaster fire. "You're no good hunkered down here."

"Thanks." Seaspray replied.

The cons were closing in, threatening to box the Wreckers into a corner. Ironhide let out a curse.

"Where is that flyer?" he demanded. "Did she stop for oil or something?"

" _Not quite, Ironhide._ " Massacre's voice replied over the comms. " _Just needed to snag a few more grenades._ "

About that time, a jet passed over the battlefield, several thermite grenades falling from it onto the approaching cons. Explosions rang out in a cacophony of sound, clearing a path for the Wreckers.

"I hope that makes up for my tardiness, General." Massacre called out from above.

"It's a good start." Ironhide replied. "There's still a lot more work to be done."

Massacre transformed into her robot mode, landing in the center of the Wreckers and activating her machine guns.

"Then why are we gossiping like young-bots?" she asked with a grin. "We've got cons to crush!"

"You heard her boys!" Ironhide called out spinning his cannons. "Let's show these cons who really owns Tyger Pax!"

The six bots all pushed forward, their collective weapons decimating the Decepticon forces attempting to stop them. From atop a nearby ridge overseeing the battle, Starscream watched their charge with a mixture of annoyance and worry.

"Of all the Autobots to run into on this mission, I had to cross paths with those six lunatics!" he lamented.

"Commander Starscream!" A Vehicon shouted, running up. "Our forces are being forced back! If this continues, Tyger Pax is lost to us!"

"No!" Starscream exclaimed. "If I allow Tyger Pax to end up in the hands of the Autobots, there's no telling what Lord Megatron will do to me. We must not fail!"

He looked down at the bots, his optics locking onto Ironhide with a malicious grin.

"And I think I know just how to tip the scales in our favor." he remarked, aiming a missile at the large bot.

The missile launched, making a beeline towards Ironhide. Luckily, Bulkhead heard it coming and acted fast enough.

"Get down!" he shouted, grabbing Ironhide and dragging him to the ground seconds before Starscream's missile hit.

The wings of the missile just barely scraped Ironhide's shoulder plate before striking a piece of rubble behind him. Massacre followed the missile's trajectory, her optics locking onto him.

"Starscream..." she growled.

Starscream met her gaze and gulped.

"Scrap..." he swore.

He backed away slowly, then jumped off the ridge and transformed.

"Oh no you don't!" Massacre shouted.

"Go get 'im, fly-girl!" Kup told her. "We got it down here!"

Massacre wasted no time transforming and flying off in pursuit. While the two flyers took to the skies, the remaining Wreckers made short work of the vehicons. Unbeknownst to them, Starscream wasn't the only high ranking member of the Decepticons present. As they were laying down fire, a much larger aircraft flew towards them. It was a slight green color and had a large cannon attached to the bottom of it.

"We got company!" Bulkhead let out.

"It's Skyquake!" Springer declared.

"If he's here, then his twin's not far behind!" Ironhide reminded them all. "Find Dreadwing!"

Skyquake's cannon let loose on the wreckers, forcing them to scatter in order to avoid getting scrapped. While they avoided Skyquake's attempts to destroy them, Dreadwing watched them run, his thumb over a remote detonator. From the high vantage point he had chosen, he could see the dozens of explosives he had planted across the battlefield during the confusion.

"Boom, you're dead." Dreadwing said as he hit the button.

All across the field, Dreadwing's bombs went off one my one, knocking the Wreckers off their feet and sending them careening into one another. This left them vulnerable to Skyquake's attacks, something the con took full advantage of. He landed beside his twin, pulling out his cannon and firing on the Autobots. Kup, who was the first to recover from the shock of the bombs, saw the volley of fire coming towards a still dazed Seaspray. Acting fast, he shoved the rookie out of the way, taking a couple of hits in the process.

Up in the sky, Massacre was still chasing down Starscream, her machine gun attempting to strike him down.

"Get back here you cowardly con!" she shouted.

They danced through the skies, Starscream pulling every maneuver in the book to try and shake his pursuer. Massacre finally managed to get him in her sights, but before she could fire on him, Kup's pain-filled screamed echoed through the comms.

"KUP!" she exclaimed.

Seizing the opening left by the shocked flyer, Starscream did a quick 180, turning around and firing on the distracted Massacre. He clipped her wings, knocking her out of the sky and down amongst her fellow Wreckers.

"Fly-girl!" Ironhide shouted, making his way to her position in order to cover her.

Massacre slowly got to her knees, rubbing her wing in pain.

"I'm fine." she insisted. "Kup. Is he-"

"His hide is thicker than mine." Ironhide interrupted, letting off a volley of fire to deter Skyquake from attacking. "He took a blast or two for Seaspray, but he'll be fine."

Massacre straightened up, looking up at Skyquake.

"Ironhide, think it's time to call it in?" she asked.

Ironhide gave a single nod, placing two fingers against his audio receptor to activate his remote comm link.

"Ratchet, fly-girl needs that access code."

"Inputting it now." Ratchet replied.

Massacre felt something click in her processor as a smile crossed her faceplate. She held up her forearms, transforming them into the two halves of the ion cannon. They locked together, quickly powering up.

"Hey Skyquake!" she shouted as she aimed the cannon at him. "Eat this!"

Before the con could react, she let loose a powerful blast of energy, one that struck Skyquake with a devastating hit. His metal shell began to crumbled away to dust, the Decepticon screaming loudly as his spark was extinguished. Dreadwing witnessed this and his optic sensors widened in horror.

"Skyquake!" he screamed as he prepared to charge at the Autobots.

Starscream quickly landed beside him, placing a hand on the distraught Decepticon's chest plate.

"Stop you fool!" Starscream commanded. "Lest you wish to join your twin in the Well of All Sparks!"

Dreadwing growled in response, but loosened his stance.

"It's time we fall back." Starscream decided. "This battle is lost to us."

Starscream and Dreadwing then transformed into their jet modes and took off, with the remnants of the Decepticon army following behind. Bulkhead saw them retreat, a smile gracing his face plate.

"Looks like we won!" He cheered. "Woo Hoo!"

"Thanks Ratchet." Massacre said over the intercom. "The cons are leaving, and we've only got one injured. No snuffed sparks this solar cycle."

"Excellent." Ratchet replied. "Bring Kup in and I'll get him patched up in no time."

"You got it, Ratch." Massacre declared.

"Come on, let's pack it up." Ironhide ordered. "First round of Energon is on me!"

There was a chorus of cheers at that as the Wreckers took their leave of the battlefield.

…

Inside a war room at Iacon, Optimus was waiting for a special report from one of his aerial bots. He paced around the room anxiously, more than a little worried about what the report would contain. After a few more minutes of pacing, the door to the War Room opened, allowing a weary Skydive entrance.

"Optimus Prime." He greeted, saluting respectfully. "Report from Cybertron's core."

"I hope this isn't the news we've been suspecting, Skydive." Prime replied.

"I'm afraid it is." Skydive lamented, handing over the report. "See for yourself."

Optimus took the report and looked it over. His spark sank upon reading the results.

"Then the worst has come to pass." Prime lamented. "Cybertron's days are numbered."

"What are you going to tell the others?" Skydive asked.

"The truth." Prime told him. "It's what they need to hear."

Prime then walked out of the war room, trying to figure out how to tell his comrades and friends the distressing news.

…

Meanwhile, Wreckers and a few other Autobots gathered at an Energon Pub. The place was abuzz with activity, bots laughing and cheering as they enjoyed being online. For a moment, it was as if the war ravaging their planet didn't exist, even as the slightly drunk bots swapped battlefield stories.

"And then I lobbed my grenade right into their fusion reactor." Bulkhead recalled. "The joint went supernova!"

Everyone let out a loud cheer, raising their cups high.

"Don't forget that time I escaped from Darkmount pass by using the vehicon's backsides as stepping stones!" Ironhide declared.

"How can we?" Seaspray quipped. "You tell that story every time we meet up like this!"

"Don't tell me you're sick of it, Seaspray." Ironhide remarked.

"Never, Commander!" Seaspray declared.

Once again, the pub was filled with loud cheers. Then Springer raised his cup happily.

"To another Autobot victory over the Decepticons!" He declared. "And to all the bots responsible for making it happen, especially our most surprising recruit."

"That's for sure." Bulkhead agreed. "When Prime first told us the most vicious Decepticon would be joining our ranks, we all thought he lost his processor. But now, I'd say she's the best darn Wrecker we've ever had!"

If Massacre was capable of blushing, she would have been as red as Optimus Prime's paint job. Especially when the entire pub raised their cups in her honor.

"To Massacre!" Bulkhead declared.

"To Massacre!" the entire pub shouted.

"Thanks everyone." she said with a smile. "This means a lot to me."

Ironhide gave her a hardy slap on the back in response before the door to the pub opened and Prime walked in.

"Hey Prime." Ironhide called out. "Decided to join us?"

"I thought you said Primes don't party, Bulkhead." Massacre said questioningly.

"Not since I've known him." Bulkhead replied. "Somethings up."

Prime just remained silent, much to the confusion of the Autobots.

"Optimus, is everything alright?" Ratchet asked.

"No, it is not." Optimus answered. "I have received a reconnaissance report from our Aerial-bots unit on the state of Cybertron's core."

The entire pub fell silent after that, setting their cups down as they listened intently to their leader.

"What did they say?" Ironhide asked.

"... The core is shutting down." Prime answered.

The pub exploded into gasps of horror, shouts of disbelief, and just a general feeling of horror.

"How is this possible?" Ratchet questioned.

"The stellar cycles of war have ravaged our world." Prime answered. "Draining its very core of the Energon we need to survive."

Bumblebee began buzzing and chirping, as if asking if there was anything that could be done to stop it.

"None that we know of Bumblebee." Prime lamented. "Unless a new supply of Energon is found, our world is doomed, and no one is going to win this war."

"But we've already plowed through most of our Energon reserves." Wheeljack declared. "And Energon isn't native to any planet save our own."

That's when Massacre perked up.

"Maybe not, but perhaps it can be manufactured." she rationalized.

Everyone looked at her in confusion, so she continued.

"Preceptor's Organic Protoform theory proved to be true, so maybe his theory of Synthetic Energon derived from an organic source could be possible as well."

Ratchet pondered Massacre's proposal for a moment.

"It… could work." Ratchet admitted. "Provided we can find an organic planet with the right amount of resources."

"Why not Solaris-3?" Massacre offered up. "My planet of origin."

"The planet has come out of its deep freeze if my last scan of the sector is to be believed." Wheeljack added. "It could be a great place to start our Energon hunt."

Bumblebee chirped happily, practically jumping up and down with a desire to try.

"Very well." Optimus allowed. "But we shouldn't all go at once. I will lead a scout team to survey the planet and check its habitability. Once proper reconnaissance has been taken, we will send word here for additional aid in collecting the Energon we need to restore Cybertron."

"I volunteer my services." Wheeljack offered. "I've studied organic life for stellar cycles, and I'd be the best-"

"No, Wheeljack." Prime denied. "You are needed here to keep searching for more organic worlds that would suit our needs. Massacre will come along as our expert on the planet."

"Yes!" Massacre cheered. "I'm going home!"

"Prowl, Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Bulkhead will round out the team." Prime continued.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Bulkhead declared, getting to his feet. "Let's get this mission going! Cybertron ain't gonna save itself!"

While they were making plans, a certain winged spy was watching the whole conversation from a hole in the Pub's ceiling. After recording enough information, it took off to return to its dark masters.

…

In Kaon, the Decepticons all gathered in their own war room, Megatron berating Starscream for his latest failure, as well as the loss of Skyquake.

"Master, please let me explain." Starscream pleaded.

"What is there to explain, Starscream?" Megatron countered. "Tyger Pax should be in my grasp, but instead, you allowed the Autobots to claim it, and you allowed one of my finest warriors to be taken offline!"

"In my defense, Skyquake was never the sharpest-"

Starscream was interrupted by Megatron bashing him aside.

"He was still a greater warrior than you'll ever be." Megatron taunted.

Starscream curled into a little ball, trying to shield himself from any further blows. Luckily for the cowardly con, that's when a bird-like crow echoed through the chamber as Laserbeak returned to his masters.

"Lord Megatron, Laserbeak has returned from his mission." Soundwave declared.

"Welcome home, Laserbeak." Megatron greeted as the robot bird landed on his arm. "Unlike some of my other warriors, you never fail me. Soundwave, playback Laserbeak's findings."

"As you command, Megatron." Soundwave acknowledged as Laserbeak returned to him.

Laserbeak's razor-sharp bill opened up and a holographic projection began to play. It showed Optimus explaining the situation with the core, Massacre's suggestion to save it, and the formation of the team to go and retrieve the potential Energon. Once the hologram ended, Megatron was left intrigued.

"If there is a new source of Energon in the universe, then the Decepticons must find it first." He decided.

"Then perhaps I can be of assistance." Shockwave offered.

Megatron turned to see his former head scientist, still missing his arm after it was ripped off for his failure. The one-eyed bot bowed before Megatron before speaking again.

"I have been studying these organic specimens after the-" he let out a small cough. "Massacre incident. I am certain I could be of used to you on this journey."

"The last time I left you in charge of organic based projects, I lost my mightiest warrior to the Autobots!" Megatron reminded. "You are to stay behind."

"But Lord Megatron, I-"

"That is an order!" Megatron yelled.

Shockwave flinched, then wisely dropped the issue, backing away.

"I will be leading this mission personally." Megatron decided, curling his metallic fingers menacingly. "After all, I'm overdue for a reunion with my old friend Optimus."


	5. Roll Out

Deep in the heart of Iacon, hidden behind the city's protective walls, Optimus and his crew prepared for their desperate mission. They were in the process of loading up supplies onto their space cruiser, everyone lending a servo. Massacre struggled under the weight of a particularly heavy crate, trying to get it up the ramp into the ship.

"Let me get that for you." Bulkhead offered, picking up the crate.

Massacre watched as he heaved the crate over one shoulder, carrying one of equal size on the other.

"Showoff!" she accused, making her way down for another, smaller, crate.

"It's called skill!" Bulkhead yelled back. "You have your thing, and I have mine."

"Yeah, yeah, every bot has a purpose." Massacre told him, waving a servo dismissively. "Still, I wish my thing wasn't total destruction."

"That's only true if you believe that." Prowl reminded her, slipping past her with a pair of crates in his arms. "Remember, it's the warrior inside that matters."

Massacre cracked a smile, then resumed loading up the ship.

...

Across the planet at Kaon, the Decepticons were hard at work getting the Nemesis loaded up for their journey. Entire platoons of vehicons brought crates and crates of Energon, weapons, and supplies aboard under the careful eye of Soundwave.

With the loading efforts in capable servos, Megatron was able to focus on gathering his team to accompany him on the mission. He entered Kaon's barracks, where his soldiers were gathered.

"Lord Megatron!" Lugnut, an oversized Decepticon with an even more oversized loyalty streak, called out, bowing respectfully. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your presence?"

"We are embarking on an important mission, Lugnut." Megatron told him. "I require capable warriors to carry it out. Your brutish strength and undying loyalty to our cause will be of great use to me."

"Oh, thank you Lord Megatron!" Lugnut cried out, bowing over and over again.

"Oh give it a rest, lughead!" Black Arachnia, a rare insecticon demanded. "Honestly, you make me want to blow a gasket with your tailpipe kissing."

"You best get used to it, Black Arachnia." Megatron told her. "Your services will be needed as well."

"Oh goodie." She replied dryly.

"I suppose if these two are going, then I will be as well." Blitzwing said with his purple face before switching over to his pixelated one. "After all, someone needs to keep these two from snuffing each other!"

"It's against my better judgment, but yes Blitzwing." Megatron confirmed. "Your 'unique' disposition is needed to best the Autobots."

"Lord Megatron." Starscream began. "If I may be so bold, I would gladly volunteer to stay behind and command the war efforts in your absence."

Megatron just grabbed Starscream by the wind and pulled him in close.

"If I left you in charge, I'd lose all of Cybertron before I got the chance to return!" Megatron yelled, throwing him to the ground. "You will be coming with us, so I can keep a close eye on you and make sure you won't lose any more of my warriors!"

Starscream gulped, then nodded.

"As you wish, Lord Megatron." He declared. "Then perhaps… I can offer you a suggestion for a medical officer for this journey, since you have so wisely elected to leave Shockwave here."

"Who did you have in mind?" Megatron asked.

The doors opened, and a red Decepticon walked in, followed by a blue and steel one.

"Knockout and Breakdown." Starscream declared. "I promise you that they will serve you well, my lord."

"Lord Megatron, Breakdown and I are at your service." Knockout addressed as he and Breakdown bowed.

"Very well." Megatron allowed.

About that time, the doors to the barracks opened, allowing Soundwave to enter.

"Lord Megatron, the Nemesis is loaded and ready to launch." he announced.

"Then let us depart!" Megatron ordered. "I want as little time as possible between now, and Optimus Prime's inevitable demise."

…

As the last of the cargo was loaded onto the Autobot ship, Optimus met with Ultra Magnus.

"You have nothing to worry about, sir." Magnus reassured. "I'll keep up the fight here in your absence."

"I know you will." Optimus told him. "I have faith in you, old friend."

Bumblebee came out of the ship, buzzing loudly to alert Prime that the ship was ready to depart.

"Best of luck, Prime." Magnus told him.

"And to you." Prime replied, taking off towards the ship.

Prime boarded the ship and made his way into the command deck, where the other Autobots were waiting for him.

"Are we set for launch?" Prime asked, taking his seat.

"Ready as we'll ever be." Ratchet declared grouchily.

"Oh lighten up, Ratchet." Massacre joked, elbowing the old med-bot. "You've been to Solaris-3 before. That's where we first met after all."

"Prowl, commence countdown sequence." Prime commanded.

"Take off in, 5." Prowl counted down. "4. 3. 2. 1!"

Finally, the engines fired up, and the ship took off out of the hanger, headed out into the stars.

…

Onboard the Nemesis, the Decepticons were seeing their enemies soaring for the stars.

"The Autobots have launched, Megatron." Soundwave reported.

"Then so will we." Megatron let out. "Blast off! Now!"

Blitzwing immediately launched the ship. The Nemesis blasted off in pursuit of the Ark, intent on intercepting the Autobots before they got to the Space Bridge. Megatron smirked, turning to his troops.

"Once their ship is in range, cripple them." he ordered. "Then prepare a boarding party. I want to watch the light fade from Prime's optic sensors personally."

"As you command, Lord Megatron." Soundwave replied. "Operation: Interception."

...

Onboard the Ark, the Autobots were manning their stations, eager to get to the resources needed to save their planet. Massacre was particularly anxious, her metallic feet tapping lightly on the ground at her feet. Ratchet noticed her excitement and smirked.

"You seem excited." He noted.

"Of course I am." she told him. "For the first time in stellar cycles, I'm going to see the planet I'm from. I wonder how much it's changed."

"I can only imagine." Ratchet replied.

"I barely remember my life before CORD, and frankly, it would be nice to return to my old stomping grounds, so to speak." she added. "I thought you'd be excited too, Ratchet."

"I am intrigued to say the least." Ratchet admitted. "But I am also happy for you."

Massacre smiled at Ratchet, then returned to her post.

"Approaching the Space Bridge gate." Prowl reported.

"Proceed with caution." Prime warned.

Prowl began his approach, then Bumblebee stood up. He buzzed frantically, pointing at the ship's radar. The radar was beeping rhythmically, signaling that something was coming up behind them.

"He's right!" Bulkhead replied. "We got a bogey on our behind!"

"Decepticons." Prime let out. "Bulkhead, Massacre, man the weapons!"

"Yes sir!" they replied in unison, immediately running to man the guns.

...

"Lord Megatron, the Autobots have spotted us." Black Arachnia announced. "They're locking onto us."

"Maintain course and prepare to return fire!" Megatron ordered.

"As you command, Lord Megatron." Soundwave replied.

Starscream gulped, then approached Megatron nervously.

"Lord Megatron… might I ask why we're not attempting to evade their inevitable attacks?"

"If we delay, we risk Prime escape through the Space Bridge!" Megatron yelled. "And I will not allow Prime to slip through my fingers again!"

Starscream flinched hard.

"R-right, of course." he whimpered. "Forgive me."

...

Massacre adjusted her seat, lowering the reticle over her eye as she took aim. Bulkhead looked over as he pulled open the chamber and loaded the fusion battery into the guns. He looked to Massacre, then the room darkened with a flashing red light. They took their aim.

"Nemesis in sight. Broadside. Preparing to fire." Bulkhead said, before turning to Massacre, "You ready kid?"

She only nodded, her stare hardening as her thumb danced over the firing button.

"Steady…" Bulkhead said, looking for the weak spots, "Steady...and-"

"Fire!" Massacre shouted, her thumbs slamming down.

The cannon barrels lit up as electricity danced across the barrel. A loud crack echoed through space as numerous beams of green energy flew across the void, exploding across numerous decks along the Nemesis. Massacre pumped her arm as Bulkhead stood up from his chair.

"Yeah!" he cheered. "That's from the Wreckers, Megatron!"

"Don't get cocky, Bulkhead." Massacre warned as she looked down at her radar, watching as it lit up. "Darn, we've got vehicons incoming!"

Sure enough, Aerial Vehicons were pouring out of the Nemesis, closing in on the Ark. The two gunbots adjusted their grips on their guns, their optic sensors narrowing.

"Ready Bulk?" Massacre asked.

"Ready!" Bulk replied. "Switching to alternative fire."

He reached up to the switches, preparing to do just that. Massacre turned back to him in confusion.

"Alternative fire?" She questioned. "We can-"

"Bigger ain't always better, Flygirl." He argued. "The Vehicons are too small for the big guns. If we want a chance of hitting them, we need to switch to the autocannons."

"Right." She took a breath before turning off the fusion guns and switching to the autocannons. "Autocannons online!"

Just then, the ship rocked hard left, Massacre gripping hard onto her controls to keep herself steady. The light flickered violently and her console blinked red. Her optic sensors widened in horror and disbelief.

"Why aren't you firing, Flygirl!" Bulkhead said, his faceplate against the reticles as he fired. "I could use a hand or two here.

"Oh no, no, no, no..." she whispered as she tapped the screen for anything, then a large red warning came up. "No! My guns dead!"

"What?!" The oversized wrecker exclaimed, just as a second explosion rocked the Ark.

...

"Lord Megatron, we've damaged their vessel!" Lugnut reported.

"Pull alongside them and prepare to board!" Megatron commanded.

The Nemesis then began approaching the Ark, quickly overtaking the ship. A grin grew on his faceplate as his fingers clenched in anticipation.

…

Bulkhead and Massacre ran through the narrow maintenance tunnel from the Gun Deck, reaching the far ladder to the bridge. Bulkhead stood beside the ladder as Massacre took lead. Bulkhead followed as Massacre opened the hatch.

"I can't believe those sons-of-glitches took out the guns!" Massacre exclaimed as she helped Bulkhead through the hatch.

Another explosion shook the Ark as the two Wreckers approached the bridge.

"They're going to try and board us!" Prowl declared.

"You two, get your weapons and meet up at the docking doors, now!" Prime commanded.

Bumblebee got to his feet, activating his stingers. Prowl pulled a pair of hubcaps off his wheels, revealing them to be throwing stars. Bulkhead activated two wrecking balls on his hands. Massacre summoned her dual machine guns. Ratchet activated his knifes. Optimus activated his blasters. The metal began glowing around the airlock door, a red hot line tracing around the hinges. Bumblebee and Massacre took to their knee, their coolant running fast.

"Here they come..." Ratchet said quietly.

Bumblebee buzzed, leaning forward slightly. Finally, the wall was blown open, and several Vehicons came pouring in, with Megatron leading the charge.

"Megatron!" Massacre let out.

"Attack!" Megatron yelled, aiming his fusion cannon and firing at the Autobots.

Prowl threw the two caps, which sailed through the narrow hall before hitting two Vehicons right in the chest plate. They fell to the ground as Prowl dashed forward, reclaiming his weapons before jumping over them, reentering the melee. Ratchet stabbed at a Vehicon with one of his knives, unfortunately missing the slippery bot. Luckily, his second knife hit true, allowing him to gut the Vehicon. He freed himself from the now offline shell before jumping over Bumblebee and slashing one to the ground.

Massacre and Bumblebee ended up back to back, their guns primed and ready to fire. The Vehicons didn't give them a chance to fire, letting off the first shots as the hallway filled with gunfire. Bumblebee and Massacre quickly dove behind separate archway doors for cover. Massacre took a deep breath as Bumblebee looked to her. He beeped loudly, doing a series of hand gestures. Massacre nodded in understanding, taking a cautious look at the hallway before taking two potshots at the Vehicons.

"Yeah, I think I can hit him from here." She responded.

Bumblebee booped and gave a thumbs up. He then rolled under the gunshots, firing wildly into the frenzy. Massacre watched him go, waiting for her moment. She smiled confidently, then emerged from the doorway and taking aim at her target.

"Long time no see, Megatron." she quipped. "Last time we met, I stole this body from you!"

"And I look forward to taking it back!" Megatron yelled, firing at her. "Piece by piece!"

One of Prowl's hubcap throwing stars embedded itself into Megatron's gun arm, severely damaging the servo.

"Accursed ninja bot!" Megatron yelled, sharp, metallic teeth grinding in pain.

Prowl quickly ran up and pulled his throwing star free before actually slicing the arm completely off. The Decepticon howled in agony, then grabbed Prowl with his remaining arm. He slammed the ninja-bot into the ground hard, then into the wall. Bumblebee screeched loudly at that, running forward with his stingers.

"Give him some cover, Flygirl!" Bulkhead told her.

Massacre laid down some cover fire with her machine guns, getting rid of vehicons who attempted to intercept the speedy yellow racer. Bumblebee dodged around the Vehicons blasts, jumping up into the air and bringing his stinger down on Megatron's neck joint. Megatron used Prowl to swat Bumblebee away before tossing the ninja bot aside, both of them landing in heaps on the ground.

"Meddlesome scrap heap!" Megatron swore, activating his other arm's hand cannon and aiming it right at Bumblebee.

Seeing this, Prime ran towards Megatron and tackled him to the ground.

"You've taken more than enough lives in this war, Megatron!" Prime declared.

Megatron quickly kicked Prime off of him, ditching the gun arm for something a bit more personal. He summoned up a mace from a sheath on his leg, grabbing it in his free hand before swinging it at Prime. Optimus ducked under it summoning his own battle axe from a sheath on his back. It extended in his hand, the blade humming with energy as it clashed with Megatron's mace.

"When I'm through with you Prime, there won't be enough pieces to sweep up!" Megatron threatened.

"Not today, Megatron." Prime shot right back.

The two continued to clash weapons repeatedly, neither one of them willing to relent to the other. As they clashed again, Prime wrapped the maces chain around his axe, pulling Megatron in close so he could head-butt him.

Meanwhile, the vehicons continued their assault on the other Autobots, Bulkhead, Massacre and Ratchet having to cover for their downed crewmen.

"We're outnumbered, outgunned, and two bots down." Massacre noted.

"Just like back in Altihex, huh?" Bulkhead replied.

"Oh yeah." she shot back.

The two quickly moved out from their cover and began firing at the vehicons, mowing them down. This allowed Ratchet to move in on the downed Autobots and check on them. Prowl got his attention first, since the ninja-bot had taken a rather severe beating.

"Hold still, Prowl." Ratchet told him.

Prowl let out a grunt.

"I doubt… I can do much else." he let out painfully.

As Ratchet worked on Prowl, Bumblebee began to come to, buzzing slightly as he rubbed his head. As his optic sensors regained focus, he noticed a Vehicon closed in on Ratchet. Knowing time was against him, the yellow speedster aimed his blaster at him. He squeezed the trigger, his arm weakening as the gun fired off round after round in the hopes of hitting it. The Vehicon was struck in the front and spiraled down, slamming into the control panel. Suddenly, a third explosion rocked the ship. The lights died and the gravity seemed less. The ship began to lean to one side.

"Scrap!" Massacre swore. "The ship's dead in the air!"

"We need to adjust course before we miss the Space Bridge!" Prowl declared. "Or this mission will have been for nothing!"

"How do we do that?" Bulkhead snapped. "In case you haven't noticed, the ship is fried!"

"Someone's going to have to do it manually!" Ratchet told them.

Massacre perked up, turning to Ratchet.

"Leave that to me." she told him. "I just need some cover!"

"You got it!" Bulkhead replied, blasting away at the vehicons.

Massacre took the opening and bolted out of the ship, jumping through the hole Megatron had made. The second she hit open space, she flew under the ship's hull, grabbing onto it. Once she had a solid grip, she activated her thrusters, manually dragging the ship back on course.

"Ratchet! Activate the Space Bridge!" Massacre yelled.

Ratchet started making his way towards the controls when Megatron took notice of him. His optic sensors widened as he realized what the med-bot was doing. He tried swinging his mace at him, but Prime grabbed the chain and pulled the Decepticon towards him, punching him in the face. After crashing into the wall, Megatron pulled his mace free and swung at Prime, nailing him in the face.

Ratchet was able to hit a button on the control panel, activating the Space Bridge. Across from the Ark, a large circular gateway sparked to life, creating a portal to their intended destination: Earth.

"Portal's operational!" Ratchet yelled on comms. "Massacre, get back in here!"

"I can't!" she informed him. "I'm the only thing keeping this ship moving! I have to get it through the Space Bridge!"

...

Back on the Nemesis, Starscream saw the Space Bridge powering up and immediately took aim at the Ark.

"If that ship makes it to through the Space Bridge, then we might as well hand all of Cybertron over to those accursed Autobots." he snarled. "Fire on my command!"

"Negative." Soundwave responded.

"What?!" Starscream snapped, turning to Soundwave in fury. "You would let our most hated enemy escape?!"

"Lord Megatron is still on board." Soundwave reasoned.

Starscream growled, unable to come up with a good argument against Soundwave's declaration.

"Fine..." he let out. "Then follow that ship through the Space Bridge. We must make sure Lord Megatron is… extracted from the ship as soon as possible."

"Affirmative." Soundwave agreed.

The Nemesis took off after the Ark, following it through the Space Bridge.

...

On the other side of the swirling portal, the Ark emerged into the open space on the dark side of Earth's moon. Once they were through, Massacre began to power down, letting go of the hull and drifting towards the opening in the side of the ship. Ratchet saw this and tried reaching out to her. He managed to grab her arm, pulling her into the ship with a hearty tug.

"I gotcha." he told her.

Megatron and Optimus continued to clash, the latter finally managing to disarm his foe, sending both the axe and the mace flying out of the ship. Optimus held Megatron up over the hole, turning to Ratchet.

"Ratchet, activate Massacre's Ion cannon!" he ordered.

Ratchet looked down at the exhausted Massacre, who was forcing herself to sit up so she was facing Megatron.

"Do it." she insisted.

Ratchet sighed, opening up his arm panel and typing the code. She slowly raised her arms and pressed them together, hinges connected the two and her hands folded down revealing one large gun barrel. Her optics flickered in and out of power as she focused on Megatron. Optimus quickly threw himself out of the way, the energy erupted from the Ion cannon. Megatron screamed out in rage and disbelief as the energy collided with him violently. He was thrown back into the cold darkness of space as the blast continued to travel towards the moon.

…

The Nemesis escaped the space bridge, its sides torn open from the previous firefight, molten slag still bubbling from the energy weapons. Starscream looked upon the bridge, the entire console flashing red as the systems were forced to rely on one or two reactors.

"Good." Starscream mused. "The landing may be a bit rough, but we can still give chase to the Ark."

He looked over at the Ark as it drifted, planning his next move. Then, he saw the white light coming out of the side. His optics narrowed at the sight, recognizing the blast instantly.

"Massacre…" He murmured.

As the bolt of light continued its path through the endless vacuum of space, a large bot was shoved out as well, descending towards the moon. Starscream grinned at that, knowing exactly who the bot was, and that there was nothing to stay Soundwave's hand any further.

"Aim at the Ark!" He ordered. "Megatron isn't on board! We can get them!"

The lone streak of energy passed the floating bot of Megatron, crackling through the void of space as it headed for the moon. It's rough, rocky surface littered with cold stone and craters. The beam seemed intent to hit the moon and stop, forming a new crater and ending there. A lone mirror, with the initials " - 1969" sat among other dust covered mirrors. The ion beam struck it, angling itself straight for the Nemesis. Dancing through the void once more, it entered through one of the deeper cuts on the outer hull, passed the cooling systems, and through the energy couplings and slammed, straight on, into the reactor core.

The reactor exploded violently, the whole ship shook and the lights died one by one all along the vessel. The engines began to wind down and it drifted towards the moon."

"Uh, Starscream…" One of the gunners turned. "I think we lost power."

"Scrap!" Starscream shrieked. "How could this have happened?!"

"Soundwave, can't you stabilize this thing?" Black Arachnia demanded.

"Negative." Soundwave replied. "Reactor core: Offline. Stabilizers: Offline. Status of the Nemesis: Failing"

"Lord Megatron!" Lugnut exclaimed. "Where is Lord Megatron?!"

Blitzwing's face swung until it settled on his red one as he pointed at the large bot flying towards the moon.

"He's in better shape than we are right now!" he shouted. "The Autobot scum jettisoned him from their ship!"

"Pursuing Lord Megatron." Soundwave announced, steering the ship as best he could towards the moon.

...

Optimus pulled himself away from the hole in the hull, turning to the rest of his team. Massacre was basically unconscious, her hands returning to normal. Bumblebee got to his feet, running over to the control panel to try and steer the ship, forgetting that it was destroyed. He buzzed and beeped frantically, pointing at the controls and at the rapidly approaching planet. Already, the ship was beginning to catch fire due to entering the planet's atmosphere.

"Prime..." Bulkhead let out. "We got trouble!"

Prime ran to the controls, cursing as he saw their damaged state. He looked out the window, seeing the lights of civilizations growing ever closer.

"Everyone, get to the stasis pods!" he ordered.

Ratchet got under Massacre, helping her to her feet, the others followed after them, waiting as Ratchet slammed his fist on a large button on the wall, revealing a row of stasis pods. Bulkhead squeezed himself into his, Bumblebee climbing into one next to him. Prowl slipped into a third as Ratchet arranged Massacre in hers.

"Optimus, hurry!" the old med-bot insisted, preparing to climb into his own pod.

"I have to try and steer us away from this populated sector." Prime insisted.

As the pods closed around the five Autobots, Prime grabbed the steering mechanism, praying to Primus that it was still connected. Luckily for him, it was. He yanked back on it hard, leveling out the Ark just long enough for the ship to pass over several tall buildings. It clipped an antennae here and there, but aside from that, no damage was done. Unfortunately, that's when steering gave out, leaving the ark on a collision course with a large, flat-topped mountain.

"OPTIMUS!" Ratchet screamed.

Prime ditched the wheel, running towards his pod. He got in quickly, the pod sealing around him just as the ship collided violently with the side of the mountain. The ship shook hard as sirens went off in the ship.

"Warning: Critical damage to Ark." Teletraan One, the ship's onboard AI reported. "Initiating Emergency Stasis Mode."

Prime turned and watched as Ratchet got into his pod, the door slamming shut and a pneumatic hiss echoing. Optimus sighed in relief as he leaned back in his pod, the ship rocked as small explosions echoed through the wreck. His receptors slowly closing as the pod began to slowly fog, and ice crystalized. The last thing he heard was a loud, cacophonous boom just before he powered down.


	6. Robots in Disguise

A few years passed since the Ark crashed into the side of the mountain. Rubble had successfully buried it from prying eyes, and it remained untouched and undisturbed. That was soon to change as the area began to tremble. An Earthquake shook the ground around the mountain, shifting a few rocks that were surrounding the Ark.

Feeling a shift in the stones, the Ark began to power on.

"Warning: Proximity Alert." Teletraan One announced. "Deactivating stasis pods."

The six pods began to beep, small lights on the top going off before the domes lifted. Stasis gas poured out of the pods as the six bots slowly pulled themselves out. They were all a bit groggy, groans and moans filling the room as they all shuffled to their feet.

"How long were we in stasis?" Prime questioned, leaning against the wall.

"Good question, Optimus." Ratchet told him. "Here's another: What woke us up?"

"Do you think Ultra Magnus came after us?" Bulkhead suggested.

"I doubt that." Ratchet told him. "Something else must have activated the ship's defense grid."

"Only one way to find out." Massacre insisted.

She walked over to towards the cargo bay, hitting the door to open it. As it opened, several tons of dirt, rocks, and debris came pouring into the bridge, almost completely filling in the doorway and trapping the bots inside. Everyone quickly stepped out of the way of the wave, watching as it settled at their feet.

"Well… that answers that question." Massacre let out sheepishly. "Sorry guys."

Ratchet examined the pile of dirt, running his fingers along his chin.

"The structure we collided with must have crumbled around us, burying the ship in rubble." he surmised. "The resulting shift could have triggered the ships proximity sensors."

"Could we pull the ship out of the rubble?" Prowl questioned.

Bumblebee let out a buzz as he approached the ships main computer. As he approached, it slowly fizzled online. The picture was somewhat grainy and the screen was cracked, but he was able to pull up the ship's status log. He shook his head in dismay, letting out a low tone. Prime walked up behind him, scanning the screen.

"The thrusters have been severely damaged, the engines failed, and the back-up power systems are currently ineffective." He reported.

"What about communications?" Ratchet suggested. "Perhaps we could get a signal to Cybertron and-"

"I'm afraid long-range communication is impossible." Prime reported. "The antenna snapped off during the landing. We'll be lucky if the signal makes it past the planets upper atmosphere."

"So basically, we're stranded on this planet, buried under who knows how many tons of rubble, trapped in a ship that's basically a scrap heap." Bulkhead grumbled. "Just great."

Massacre looked at the slope of dirt, following up and grinning as she saw light pouring in from a small gap near the top.

"We're not buried that deeply." she pointed out. "There's a way out."

Everyone looked at the hole, Bumblebee turning to Massacre with a confused beep.

"Bumblebee is right." Prowl told her. "That hole is far too small for any of us to get through."

"Yeah, I doubt even Prowl could ninja his way through that." Bulkhead agreed.

"I can fit." Massacre insisted, stepping back from the group.

Bulkhead snorted, laughing a bit as a hand went to his oversized midsection.

"Massacre, did the extended stasis screw with your processor?" He questioned. "You may be the size of a two-wheeler, but there's no way your can-"

His words were cut off as Massacre began transforming. More than that, she began shrinking. Her wings folded in on themselves, her Cybertronian features slowly softening as her entire body condensed, forming a humanoid-shaped body at the appropriate size. From the back of her neck, a small nozzle opened up, allowing what looked like some sort of nanite skin that covered up her body, becoming a fair-skinned flesh tone. Long black hair quickly sprouted from the top of her head, falling down around her shoulders before stopping about mid-way down her back.

"You were saying?" she asked, looking up at Bulkhead triumphantly.

Everyone stared at her, save for Ratchet, who just looked prideful as his now miniaturized friend. Prime bent down, holding his hand out palm up. Massacre climbed on, allowing him to lift her up to eye-level once again.

"How is this possible?" He questioned, looking her over.

"During one of the many medical scans I performed on her, I found an offline matrix attached to her T-Cog." Ratchet explained. "After careful examination, I found it to be coded to allow a Cybertronian to condense their form into something much smaller than your average bot."

"No doubt one of Shockwave's experiments." Prowl mused.

"That was my hypothesis." Ratchet agreed. "Considering I found it offline at the time, I can only assume he scrapped the project. I however, found a different use for it."

"Considering he wasn't able to make me an organic again, he did the next best thing." Massacre continued. "Using the condensement matrix and a Bioscan of my former organic body, he created this secondary transformation."

Bumblebee beeped and booped, giving Massacre a thumbs up. Massacre smiled back at him.

"Thanks Bee." she replied. "I like it too."

Prime slowly lifted Massacre up to the top of the rubble pile, setting her down as close to the hole as possible.

"See what you can find out there." he told her. "Any signs of civilization, as well as the condition of the Ark."

"You got it Optimus." she assured him. "Teletraan One, connect video feed with my optic sensors."

The screen fizzled slightly, then connected, showing the world from Massacre's point of view. Her eyes glowed slightly, making them appear bright blue. After making sure everything was in order, she began scaling the rest of the pile towards the hole.

...

Even in Massacre's miniaturized state, it was still a tight squeeze through the hole and out of the switch. She pulled herself free with a grunt, brushing dirt off herself as she looked down at the ship.

"Comm-check." she declared, putting two fingers up to her right ear. "Testing."

" _Read you._ " Prowl informed her. " _You're good to go._ "

" _What's the condition of the Ark?_ " Bulkhead questioned. " _That's priority one right now._ "

Massacre stepped back climbing across several rocks so she could get a good look at the ship. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to see.

"Well, I was right when I said we weren't buried too deeply." she reported. "Unfortunately, all but the portside thruster is currently underground."

" _Can you tell how long we've been here?_ " Ratchet inquired.

"Negative." she replied. "But from the amount of small organic plants clinging to the thruster, I'd say we've been here at least a couple stellar cycles."

" _Scrap._ " Ratchet let out.

"Hey, don't get your wires crossed, Ratchet." Massacre told him leaning against the dead thruster. "There's still a chance to fix… the..."

Her words trickled off as her gaze drifted towards the town. The tiny villages of tents and campfires she remembered were nowhere to be seen. In their place stood massive cities that were reminiscent of the great Cybertronian cities. Large towers of metal and glass reached towards the skies.

"By the Allspark." she let out. "Are you guys seeing this?"

" _We are, Massacre._ " Prime replied. " _It's remarkable._ "

" _Seems quite a bit has changed since the last time you were here, Flygirl._ " Bulkhead quipped.

"Looks like." she agreed. "I better get a closer look."

Carefully, Massacre made her way down the mountain and into the surrounding forests. Recalling her days of running around her bio-dome, she leapt and bound across stones and fallen branches, unable to keep the large smile off her face.

"I haven't done this in stellar cycles!" she cheered.

" _Happy for you,_ " Prowl spoke up. " _But do remember that you're on a mission._ "

"Trust me I know." She assured him. "I'm not a complete-"

That's when her foot snagged on an exposed root, sending her tumbling down a small hill. She rolled through a shrub before finally coming to a stop in the middle of a dirt path. She spat out a leaf, letting out a groan.

"...idiot." she reluctantly finished.

" _What was that?_ " Bulkhead asked, teasingly.

"I will shove my ion cannon so far up your exhaust port, you'll be leaking oil for a month." she threatened.

" _Enough._ " Prime chimed in.

Massacre groaned, getting up off the ground and trying to clean herself off. About that time, a large vehicle came around the corner, nearly running her over. She dove out of the way as the vehicle came to a stop. Recovering from her dive, Massacre looked at the vehicle in surprise.

"Whoa." she let out. "I think my race evolved a whole lot in the time I was gone."

" _So it seems._ " Prime concurred. " _Still, revealing ourselves would be too great a risk at this time. Scan some of the local vehicle forms so we can blend in with the populous. Until this planet is ready, we must activate as robots in disguise._ "

"Copy that, Prime." Massacre told him, looking over the vehicle. "Luckily, I've already found one for Bulkhead."

She blinked, her eyes flashing a bright blue as she scanned the large vehicle. As her scan came to a conclusion, the doors of the vehicle opened up, allowing two humans to emerge. They were dressed in brown uniforms with strange hats. They approached Massacre with looks of concern, speaking in a tongue she didn't recognize.

"Uh-oh." Massacre let out. "Prime, we've got a problem."

" _What is it?_ " Prowl asked.

"Whatever language these two are speaking, it's not in my database." she replied. "We've got a serious language barrier here."

" _This is a problem._ " Prime dreaded.

As the men walked up to her, one of them took off his jacket and handed it to her. She took it, looking at it in confusion before realization dawned. Her face turned beat red as she quickly pulled the jacket over herself.

"Uh, Ratchet?" she let out. "I think we made a slight miscalculation in my organic transformation."

" _So it seems._ " Ratchet noted. " _We didn't take into account the coverings your race uses._ "

"Well, in our defense, in a temperature regulated biodome where I was literally the only organic humanoid lifeform, it's easy to forget such customs." she commented.

" _Indeed._ " Ratchet agreed. " _Though it is something we'll have to take into consideration in the future._ "

The two men began ushering her towards the vehicle, no doubt to offer her some proper attire and aid. Seeing no other choice, and desperate for some clothes, Massacre obliged.

...

The two park rangers brought Massacre to their headquarters at the edge of the forest. After getting her inside and into a spare uniform they had handy, they sat her down on a bench as one of the rangers called the police. They arrived quickly, the EMT taking Massacre as Sergeant Fanzone questioned the rangers.

"So you're saying you found the kid wandering the forest on the outskirts of Mt. 23rd street?" He asked, making sure his notes were correct.

"That's right." The ranger confirmed. "She looked lost and confused, and I don't think English is her first language. She looked at us like she didn't know what we were saying."

Fanzone looked back at Massacre, watching as she stared at a police motorcycle without blinking. Unbeknownst to the organics around her, she was scanning it for Prowl, turning her attention to the ambulance next, figuring it was perfect for Ratchet. Fanzone shook his head, letting out a sigh.

"If I had to guess, I'd say the girl just got out of some kind of trouble." Fanzone deduced. "Lost and alone in the woods with not even the clothes on her back, somethin spooked her and she's still copin with it."

"But how do we get her to tell us if she doesn't speak English?" the park ranger asked.

"Why don't we take her down to the station?" Fanzone suggested. "One of our translators might be able to get something out of her."

The park ranger nodded, then walked off as Fanzone approached Massacre. She heard him coming and turned to him, straightening up and adjusting the shock blanket one of the EMTs had given her.

"Hey there." He greeted. "I'm Sergeant Fanzone. Can you tell me your name?"

Massacre looked at him, trying to decipher what he was saying and clearly failing miserably. The two continued to stare at each other for a minute before Fanzone let out a sigh.

"Alright, forget the name for now." he told her. "I need you to come with me so we can figure out where you're from and how to get you home."

He held out his hand, praying she understood. Thankfully, it seemed to work as she took his hand, allowing him to escort her to his car. He opened the backseat and she took that as a cue to get inside. Once inside, he closed the door, then got in himself and drove off.

...

Massacre stared out the window of the car, seeing all the cars passing by with complete awe.

"This reminds me of when you took me to that Iacon Council meeting before the War began." she recalled. "So many different vehicles."

" _Just scan the ones you need and find a way out of there._ " Ratchet cautioned. " _We can't afford causing trouble with local law enforcement._ "

"I don't think I'm in trouble." she insisted. "Everyone seems to be treating me the way you did when I first ended up like this. Y'know, trying to help me and stuff."

" _Then it would be best to cooperate with them as best you can._ " Ratchet suggested. " _And find a way to learn the planet's language so we can resolve this situation._ "

About that time, the car stopped at a red light, lining up with a yellow Camaro with black racing stripes along the edge. When she laid eyes on it, the sound of Bumblebee buzzing into his comms filled her audio receptors.

"Alright, alright Bee, I'll scan it for you." she told him, blinking and doing just that.

Bee buzzed appreciatively.

"That just leaves you, Prime." Massacre realized. "Well, you and I, but I haven't seen any flying vehicles yet."

" _Just keep your optic sensors primed._ " Prime told her. " _We don't need to spend any more time on this then is needed._ "

...

After a bit more driving, the car pulled up to the Police Station. Fanzone got out of the car and opened the back one for Massacre, signaling her to get out. She climbed out of the car and followed Fanzone inside. As they walked inside, they passed through the station's metal detector. Almost immediately upon Massacre passing through it, it began blaring loudly.

"What the…?" Fanzone let out.

The techs shut it off, looking at Fanzone with a confused shrug. Fanzone groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"This is why I hate machines." he let out, irritated.

Massacre looked back at the metal detector, looking a bit worried as Fanzone took her hand. He led her inside, eventually having her sit down at his desk.

"You wait here." he insisted.

As he walked off, Massacre looked around and saw a computer sitting on one of the desks. Thinking she could use it to learn a bit more about the planet, she reached for it, placing her hand on the keyboard. Her fingers then opened up, thin wires sinking into the keyboard. Immediately, the screen began to flash rapidly as she went through file after file, digging deeper to learn all that she could. Her eyes flashed in a similar manner as her processor took in everything she needed. After about two minutes of this, she disconnected, the computer shutting off as her hand returned to normal.

"Prime, we get anything useful from that?" she asked.

" _Quite a bit._ " Prime reported. " _Including many native languages to this planet. This should solve our current 'communication problem'._ "

" _Who would've thought a single planet could have such a wide variety of languages._ " Prowl mused.

" _Thankfully, we were able to compare the language files to your new friend's language, and we've deduced that he's speaking something called 'english'._ " Ratchet informed her.

Massacre shifted through the newly downloaded language software, activating the English setting just as Fanzone returned.

"Sorry for taking so long." Fanzone apologized. "Fortunately I think I found someone that could help with our little language barrier."

"Thank you, but I do not believe that will be a problem." Massacre informed him.

Fanzone blinked in surprise, staring at her for a second.

"Oh, so you do speak English." Fanzone let out. "Why didn't you say anything to the rangers?"

"I was still adapting to everything." she explained honestly. "I wasn't sure what to say."

"So how did you end up in the middle of the woods alone and naked?" Fanzone questioned.

"Uh..." she muttered, her processor stalling for a moment. "That is a very good question."

"You don't remember?" Fanzone asked.

"Uh, yeah." She quickly answered. "It's… all a bit of a blur. I just remember waking up and trying to find my way through the woods. That's when the… park rangers found me."

"I see…" Fanzone responded before turning to his computer.

He was immediately greeted by the blue screen of death. His eyes widened as he started banging on the keyboard, trying to get his computer to respond. Instead, he merely dislodged several of the keys.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" Fanzone let out.

Seeing an opportunity, Massacre slowly got up out of her seat and began backing away from the desk. Once she was sufficiently distanced from the irate sergeant, she turned and walked out of the station.

"Mission accomplished." she announced. "Well, almost."

" _Good work, Massacre._ " Prime commended. " _Return to the ship as soon as you can._ "

She nodded in agreement, turning and preparing to walk off. As she did, a large semi-truck pulled up to a stoplight. Her eyes widened at the sight and she grinned, giving the vehicle a scan.

"Prime, finally found you a vehicle mode."

...

Finally, after hours of hiking through the woods and avoiding the park rangers still in the area, Massacre returned to the Ark. By this point, Bulkhead had managed to clear out the hanger door, giving the Autobots unfettered access to the outside. From the large pile of rubble off to the side, he was in the middle of an excavation job.

"Welcome back." Bulkhead greeted. "How was your trip into town?"

"Eventful." she answered. "I see you've been busy."

"Someone has to get this bucket of bolts out of the mountain and back into the sky." Bulkhead reminded her. "Anyways, you go on inside. I'm sure Prime and Ratchet are getting anxious."

Massacre nodded as she transformed back into her robot mode, entering into the ship. Unfortunately, her transformation completely shredded her clothes, reducing them to a pile of scrap.

"Whoops." she let out.

"Relax!" Ratchet called out. "I've already begun working on upgrades to your human form, including appropriate human coverings."

Massacre sighed in relief.

"You're the best, Ratchet." she told him.

He had her sit down on the ship's infirmary table as he hooked her up to the ship's computer. The download began as Ratchet turned away from his friend, looking over at Prime. Prime was going over the information collected from Fanzone's computer, reading it intently.

"It would seem we have landed in a human settlement known as Detroit." Prime relayed. "The geological structure we crashed into is call "Mount 23rd Street". Further scans have shown that beneath the mountain lies-"

Suddenly, there was a loud crash from outside. It was punctuated by a yelp from Bulkhead, and a frantic beep from Bumblebee. Ratchet, Prime, and Prowl ran out to check on Bulkhead, only to find a massive hole in the side of the mountain.

"Bulkhead!" Prowl called out. "Are you alright!"

"Yeah!" Bulkhead called back. "Nothing majorly damaged!"

There was the sound of shifting rubble, then Bulkhead called up again.

"Prime, you guys need to get down here!" he insisted. '"You're not gonna believe what I found!"

The four climbed inside, and found a massive underground chamber that seemed to fill a good portion of the mountain. There were large platforms all across the chamber, as well as dusty computer terminals and large TV arrays. There wasn't any light available at the time, and it was clear that whatever this place was, it had been abandoned for some time.

"By the All Spark…" Ratchet let out.

"Incredible." Prowl marveled.

Bumblebee buzzed in complete awe, scanning the area with great interest.

" _What are you guys seeing down there?_ " Massacre questioned through the comms.

"It would seem that this is the abandoned missile silo I read about in the reports." Prime deduced. "Abandoned by humans for many stellar cycles."

"Meaning we won't have any prying optics looking for us here." Prowl added.

" _If we're going to be stuck here for a while, and from the looks of the ship, we will be, having somewhere we can shut down for a stasis nap would be beneficial._ " Massacre commented.

Bumblebee let out a series of beeps, pointing towards the large hangar bay not far from the entrance.

"Good eye, Bee." Bulkhead complimented. "Once we get the ship out of the mountain, we can store it here so we don't draw attention to ourselves."

"It may take some time to get this place functional again, but I think I can rig us up something that we can make do with." Ratchet reported.

"Then I suggest we all get to work." Prime declared.

...

Later that night, Fanzone was still wrestling with his computer, trying desperately to get it to work. By this time, he was getting completely fed up to the point that he was just banging his head on his desk.

"This. Is why. I hate. Machines." He let out, punctuating each statement with a blow to the desk.

"Sergeant Fanzone." a voice called out.

Fanzone looked up and saw a portly, African American man in a black suit flashing him a Department of Homeland Security badge. Fanzone shot up in his seat, visibly sweating as the man placed his badge back in his pocket.

"My name is Special Agent William Fowler." The man introduced. "I'd like to talk to you about how the hell you managed to hack into the NDMC military supercomputer in a matter of minutes."

Fanzone just blinked before responding.

"What in the Sam hill are you talking about?!" Fanzone replied. "My computer has been buggy all day!"

"Sergeant, do you honestly think I'm going to buy that pile of B.S?" Fowler questioned.

"See for yourself." Fanzone responded, turning the monitor around and showing the blue screen to him. "Can't get the darned thing to work."

Fowler looked at it, then gestured to two of his men.

"Take the computer to the lab." he ordered. "We'll see what we can learn what caused this, and if the good sergeant is telling the truth."

"Why in blue blazes would I lie?" Fanzone questioned. "I've been up to my eyeballs in work, first from the earthquake, then that crazy girl who disappeared, and then my damn computer fritzed out."

Fowler perked up as Fanzone rattled off the things that happened to him that day, with a certain item catching his ear.

"What crazy girl?" He asked.


	7. Rise Up

Hidden in the recesses of the dark side of the moon, Megatron's body was in a state of self-repair. He had been like this for stellar cycles, in a form of stasis similar to a coma. However, his repairs were almost complete, and his processor was slowly pulling him back into the land of moving parts. He growled in frustration, remembering the defeat he suffered at the hands of the Autobots in their last encounter. The stiffness of his joints, and his solitude on a moon only added to his humiliation.

Finally, feeling returned to his limbs again, he climbed to his feet and scanned the horizon. After looking around, he caught sight of the vague silhouette of his ship. His optic sensors narrowed and he jumped into the air, transforming into vehicle mode before darting towards the ship. As he flew towards the ship, he took note of several scattered bodies dotting the ground leading towards the Nemesis.

Many were faceless vehicons, but he could see one or two of his Decepticons on the ground, their sparks having been extinguished. The number only seemed to increase as he made his way inside. He looked around and saw more bodies strewn across the floor and several stasis tubes cracked open. Thankfully, most of them were still intact and functional.

He approached the first one, deactivating it and lifting the lid. As the stasis gas billowed out, Soundwave slowly emerged, his screen showing nothing but snow at first as he began to reboot his hard drive. After regaining his senses, he gasped at the sight of his great leader.

"Lord Megatron." he let out, immediately bowing. "You are online."

"Indeed." Megatron confirmed. "So few of us are. Quickly! We must awaken the other Decepticons!"

"As you command." Soundwave acknowledged.

The two began opening every stasis pod they could, pulling the Decepticons from their slumber. Among the survivors were Blitzwing, Lugnut, Black Arachnia, Starscream, Knockout, and Breakdown.

"Ah, it's good to be back in the land of moving parts." Knockout commented, stretching his limbs.

"Tell me about it." Breakdown replied. "Any idea how long we were out?"

"Not a clue." Knockout replied.

"Well, you're about as useless as ever." Black Arachnia grumbled, giving her spider legs a stretch.

"You wanna run that by us again?" Breakdown threatened.

"You heard me you overgrown engine blocks." he snarled, pointing a claw at them.

Suddenly, a long line of ice shot out, freezing Black Arachnia's forearm. She looked at her frozen servo before turning to the culprit.

"As usual Black Arachnia, your temperament is as unpleasant as that Insecticon mode of yours." Blitzwing informed her with his purple face.

"Blow it out your actuator three-face." she snapped, shattering the ice on her arm with a flick of her wrist.

Blitzwing's face shifted to his angry red one as he approached her furiously.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Insect?!" he howled. "The name in Blitzwing! Remember it, cause it's the last thing you'll hear before I-!"

His face then shifted again, becoming the pixelated one.

"-Express my feelings in song!" he announced before breaking out into an off-key version of 'the Itsy Bitsy Spider'.

Black Arachnia went to tackle the singing Decepticon, but was intercepted by Lugnut, who grabbed her by the back and hoisted her into the air.

"Put me down you son of a glitch!" she demanded.

"Black Arachnia..." Starscream let out, shaking his head. "Considering how few of us there are left, we can ill afford to lose anyone else to infighting in the ranks."

Black Arachnia scowled, but ceased struggling. Only then did Lugnut put her down.

"As rare as it is, Starscream speaks the truth." Megatron agreed as he walked up to them, causing all Decepticons to stand at attention. "If we are to survive in this new world and claim victory over the Autobots, we must act as a united front. And that means each and every one of us! Understand?!"

There was a chorus of affirmatives from each Decepticon, including Black Arachnia.

"Excellent." Megatron nodded. "Now, our first course of action will be to get this vessel repaired. Soundwave, approximate how long repairs will take."

"Calculating." Soundwave declared from his post at the bow of the ship. "Damage assessment, critical. Estimated repair time: 3 Deca-cycles."

"And what are we to do in the meantime?" Starscream asked. "Wander about on this forsaken moon?"

Blitzwing's face shifted back to his purple one as he glanced through the broken window of the ship.

"Perhaps it would be a good idea to find a temporary base of operations on the planet below." he suggested, pointing towards the Earth.

"An excellent idea Blitzwing." Megatron commended. "Perhaps materials to repair the ship may be found as well. We make for the planet! Decepticons, transform and rise up!"

Each Deception transformed into vehicle mode before taking off out of the ship, leaving the vehicons behind to begin the clean-up process.

...

Sitting in his office in the DHS headquarters, Agent Fowler replayed the Detroit PD security footage for perhaps the umpteenth time that morning. It showed Fanzone's 'crazy girl' walking through the metal detector before it went completely nuts. The techs had reset the detector and run a full diagnostic, but had found nothing wrong with it.

What really threw Fowler for a loop was later footage of the girl at Fanzone's desk. The footage was far too grainy to make out any major details, but from what he could tell, she merely touched the computer's keyboard and it started downloading files.

"What are you, kid?" he questioned.

He was so focused on the footage that the sound of his desk phone going off nearly had him jump out of his seat. Quickly composing himself, he grabbed the phone.

"Fowler." he greeted.

 _"Sir, we've detected several unidentified bogies entering earth's atmosphere."_ a soldier explained. " _Their heading shows them coming in for a landing near Anchorage._ "

"How many are there?" Fowler questioned, getting to his feet.

" _Ten, sir._ " the soldier answered. " _What are your orders?_ "

"Attempt to establish radio contact." Fowler ordered. "They fail to respond, take them down with extreme prejudice."

" _Yes sir._ " the soldier replied.

The call ended as Fowler closed his computer. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he had a feeling in his gut that he would want to watch what happened next.

...

The cons made their way into the upper atmosphere of earth, Knockout and Breakdown hitching a ride on a pair of vehicons since they both had land based vehicle modes. The group soared through the skies until they were intercepted by a large battalion of fighter jets. The pilots looked out at the cons.

" _Base, this is Alpha squadron._ " one of the pilots announced. " _We've intercepted the bogies._ "

" _I've never seen planes like these before._ " another pilot announced.

"So, the lifeforms of this world want to play." Starscream remarked. "If they insist."

"Wait, Starscream!" Megatron ordered. "Let's let this play out. I'm curious to see all that this world has to offer."

"But I… I mean, as you wish, Lord Megatron." Starscream relented.

One of the pilots flipped on a speaker, addressing the cons.

" ** _Attention unidentified aircrafts!_** " he shouted. " ** _You have entered restricted airspace! You will be escorted to the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson base! Resist, and we will be forced to use deadly force!_** "

"Any idea what these creatures are saying?" Breakdown questioned.

Knockout activated his translating software, shifting it until he came across a recent update. Installing it, the next declaration came through crystal clear.

" ** _Unidentified aircrafts!_** " the pilot tried again. " ** _You will submit to the escort! Failure to comply will result in your immediate destruction!_** "

"These lowly creatures dare to give orders to the great Megatron?!" Lugnut exclaimed. "They must be taught the power and majesty of the Decepticons!"

"Patience, Lugnut." Megatron told him before flipping on his external speakers. " ** _We will comply._** "

 **" _Acknowledged._ " **The pilot replied before turning off the speakers. " _Contact established. Escorting unknown crafts back to basecamp._ "

" _Copy Alpha Squadron._ " the base commander confirmed. " _Units standing by._ "

The jets began escorting the cons towards their basecamp as Knockout's Vehicon flew closer to Megatron.

"If I may be so bold, are you sure it is wise to allow ourselves to be taken by the primitive life forms of this planet?" he questioned.

"Calm yourself, Knockout." Megatron ordered. "I said I wanted to see what this world had to offer, and these imbeciles are leading the way."

"An excellent ploy, oh wise and glorious Megatron." Lugnut praised.

Black Arachnia let out a disgusted groan as they flew onward.

...

After about an hour of flying, the Decepticons were led to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. They all landed in the large airstrip, their optic sensors scanning over the various vehicles that were coming out to meet them.

"I take back my earlier skepticism, Lord Megatron." Knockout commented. "Seems we have a certifiable buffet of vehicle modes to choose from."

"Indeed." Megatron concurred. "This will be an excellent way to test their might against ours."

About that time, loud speakers crackled as the General in charge of the base began speaking.

" ** _Unidentified crafts!_** " he shouted. " ** _Shut off your engines and exit the vehicles!_** "

Blitzwing let out a crazed laugh.

"If you insist!" he cackled.

One by one, each of the cons transformed into their robotic forms, immediately drawing their weapons. The soldiers present were shocked beyond belief by the giant robots standing before them.

"General..." One soldier gulped. "I don't think these things are from around here."

"Decepticons!" Megatron shouted. "Eliminate these pests!"

"I thought he'd never ask!" Breakdown let out, forming his hand into a hammer and beginning to smash the tanks and jeeps present.

The soldiers began opening fire of the Decepticons, but their gunfire proved ineffective against the thick metal plating of the robots. If anything, it merely served as a minor annoyance.

"This is the best these humans can do?" Starscream asked as he formed his hand into a gun. "Truly pathetic."

He then began opening fire on them, his gun chewing through their defenses, as well as the concrete, as if it was made of tissue paper. As the forces engaged the Decepticons, Megatron turned to Soundwave.

"Soundwave, see what you can learn about this new world from here." He requested. "This is a military base, so there must be an information hub somewhere."

"Acknowledged, Lord Megatron." He replied. "Laserbeak, deploy."

His chest plate opened and the small drone launched into the air in front of the Decepticon.

"Operation: Acquisition." he declared.

The drone flew off to complete its designated mission. Soundwave remained in place, monitoring Laserbeak's progress. The two Vehicons moved in around him, acting as his protection while he worked. They shot at anything that moved, be it fleeing soldiers or vehicles trying to retaliate.

Black Arachnia chose a more direct approach, switching into her Insecticon mode before scuttling along the walls and jumping on top of various vehicles. Her spindle-like legs pierced through the armored vehicles as she chuckled.

"Haven't had this much fun since the battle for Iacon." she remarked.

Blitzwing meanwhile kept alternating between shooting fire and ice at the soldiers, frying and freezing many in response.

"Take that you puny insects!" His pixelated face howled in delight.

As Starscream continued firing, he glanced up at several fighter jets moving to fly over them.

"Enough wasting time on the ground." he decided. "Time to show these fools what a real flyer can do."

His eyes flashed as he scanned one of the jets. The second it completed, he transformed into the jet, taking off into the sky after the others. He flew towards the jets and began opening fire at it, his lasers reducing the jets to scrap metal. Blitzwing looked up at the fighting, his pixelated grin growing somewhat bigger.

"Ooh, that looks fun!" he cheered. "I want to join!"

He looked around for a jet to scan, but then his scanners rested on an approaching tank. His face spun, becoming his angry red one.

"Wait, the tank!" He shouted.

He then switched back to the blue face.

"No, we should take the fighter jet." he rationalized before switching back to the red face.

"No! The assault tank!"

This went on, his faces switching between his blue and red face as he tried to come to a decision.

"Jet."

"Tank!"

"Jet."

"Tank!"

"Jet."

"Tank!"

"Oh for the love of..." Breakdown let out, slapping Blitzwing upside the head.

His face spun around before switching to the pixelated face.

"Ooh! Why not scan both?!" He suggested.

He did just that, scanning both the jet and the tank before choosing the former, taking off into the sky to bash some jets. Breakdown watched him go before glancing back at Knockout.

"You sure there's no way to shut down two of those faces of his?" he asked.

"Believe me, I've been looking." Knockout replied.

By this point, most of the base was either reduced to rubble, on fire, or both. Several soldiers took cover behind some rubble as they tried to call for backup.

"We're taking heavy casualties out here!" one soldier cried out. "We need help."

" _Send in the bombers!_ " The General ordered. " _Blow those things to kingdom come!_ "

…

While most of the men were busy dealing with the Decepticon threat, they were clueless to Laserbeak's infiltration deeper into the base. Those that did quickly fell prey to the drone's blasters or simply dove for cover. Eventually, the drone made it to the center of the base, locking its sensors onto the information hub. It landed on it quickly, clamping down on the main computer tower and beginning its download.

All across the hub, computers were going completely nuts, firewalls disintegrating under Laserbeak's attack. A few techs who were hiding under their desks noticed their screens and completely panicked.

"It's after the files!" One shrieked.

"Cut the main line!" Another shouted.

One tech made a beeline for the kill switch, yanking on it desperately. Unfortunately, it was padlocked in the off position. With no other option, the tech grabbed a fire axe from off the wall, swinging it at the power lines. Sparks flew with each chop until the power to the tower was finally cut. With his information line severed, Laserbeak let out a high-pitched shriek, releasing the tower. It then began firing randomly around the room in retaliation. The techs all dove for cover once more, screaming over the ruckus of the attack.

...

In the wake of the call for bombers, all of the soldiers had retreated, even those who'd stayed to try and fend off the cons. The Decepticons watched them retreat, smug in their apparent defeat and the cowardice of their enemies.

"That's right!" Blitzwing shouted, landing as he went into robot mode, his red face in charge. "Run you pathetic organics!"

"Such a shame." Black Arachnia lamented, landing and shifting back to normal. "I was just starting to have fun."

Starscream landed as well, looking around skeptically.

"Master, I do not like this." he voiced. "I fear these creatures are plotting something."

"I welcome whatever challenge these humans can provide." Megatron boasted. "Such as it is."

All of a sudden, a massive explosion shook the base as the area behind them went up in flames. The cons stumbled slightly, turning to see a large ship flanked by a group of bombers closing in on the base. Megatron smirked, liking what he saw.

"That… will do nicely." Megatron remarked, scanning the larger ship.

Lugnut saw his master scanning the bombers and quickly locked his optic sensor on another. The two then transformed, taking off towards the bombers. Black Arachnia glanced around at the wrecked airfield, eventually laying eyes on a battle helicopter.

"Can't let lughead have all the fun." she decided as she scanned it.

Transforming, she took off after the two bombers. Starscream transformed as well as Blitzwing switched to his pixelated face.

"Hey, wait for me!" he cried out, flying after them.

The group flew up to meet the bombers, much to the pilots' terror.

"Sir, whatever these things are, two of them just turned into our bombers!" One pilot cried out.

"They got the battle copter and a few jets too!" another pilot realized.

"Damn." a third pilot let out. "Take em out quick! Hit em fast and hard!"

The bombers flew up, getting above the cons and dropping a load of missiles on them. Blitzwing and Starscream quickly began blasting, catching several in midair and causing them to explode. The two then flew towards the bombers themselves and began opening fire on them. Some of the stray blasts hit the bombs inside, causing them to explode and blow a massive hole in one of the bombers, sending it crashing on top of a few other planes.

"Such pitiful resistance." Starscream chuckled. "Hard to believe that these creatures possess the power that overrode Massacre's processor."

"You would be wise to exercise caution on how you mention that bug, Starscream." Megatron threatened.

Starscream's voice box stalled for a second.

"Apologies, Lord Megatron." he replied. "Slipped out."

At that time, Laserbeak flew out of the building and returned to Soundwave, attaching to his chest once more.

"Lord Megatron," Soundwave spoke up. "Operation Acquisition status: halted. Information hub, destroyed. Download, incomplete."

"Scrap." Megatron let out. "Decepticons, fall back! There is no need for our presence here."

"Affirmative, Lord Megatron." Soundwave declared. "Accessing downloaded files. Searching for viable vehicle mode."

After a second, his face screen showed a loading bar that filled up in a matter of seconds.

"Search complete." he announced. "Ready to comply."

He then shifted into what looked like a stealth drone, taking off into the sky. Breakdown and Knockout switched into their Cybertronian vehicle modes, driving off. The rest of the Decepticons went to do the same, then Megatron turned to Lugnut.

"Make sure they cannot follow us." he demanded.

"As you command, Lord Megatron." Lugnut complied.

Lugnut then flew back around and transformed into his robot mode. His hand shifted until a single red button rested at the top of his fist. He went flying at the largest bomber, his fist connecting with an explosion that rippled through the sky. The large con was send backwards by the blow, but easily recovered in midair, shifting into vehicle mode before flying after the cons.

...

The cons flew from the base, heading out of Alaskan airspace and into the Canadian wilds. Once they were certain they had put enough distance between them and the remains of the base, the flyers all landed, shifting back into robot mode.

"Well, that was a pleasant outing." Blitzwing's pixelated face commented. "And I got two new vehicle modes to play with!"

"Glad you're pleased." Black Arachnia replied dryly. "So what now?"

"Our mission has not changed." Megatron answered. "Finding a base of operations on this planet is crucial."

"Considering our recent bout with the organics of this planet, wouldn't it make more sense to retreat back to the moon, where they cannot reach us?" Starscream questioned.

"I will not cower in fear of such lowly, pathetic insects!" Megatron snapped, grabbing Starscream by the wing and digging his claws into the metal. "Besides, Optimus and the rest of his Autobots were making for this planet when they went down."

"Odds are the crash did them in." Knockout rationalized. "They're probably rusting away in that ship of theirs."

"Optimus' spark is not so easily extinguished." Megatron told him, releasing Starscream and shoving him aside. "We have centuries of conflict to prove as much."

"Lord Megatron." Soundwave interjected, his face screen flashing. "Energy signature detected. Identification: Energon"

"Energon?" Starscream let out, rubbing his dented wing. "On this mud ball?"

"Affirmative." Soundwave replied. "Location: 20 kliks north."

"It couldn't be the Autobots… could it?" Breakdown questioned.

"We must find out to be certain." Megatron decided. "Lugnut, Blitzwing, scout ahead and report what the Energon source is."

"As you command, Lord Megatron." Lugnut replied.

"If it is the Autobot scum, we will crush them into sheet metal!" the red-faced Blitzwing assured.

The two then transformed and flew up into the sky, heading towards Soundwave's coordinates. The rest of the cons waited, and after a minute, their comms crackled to life.

" _Lord Megatron, we found the site._ " a blue-faced Blitzwing reported. " _There are no signs of the Autobots._ "

"And the Energon?" Megatron questioned.

" _You will want to see this for yourself._ " he replied.

...

The cons arrived at the site, landing in front of a large cave entrance. There, Blitzwing and Lugnut were waiting. However, there was no sign of the Energon.

"Where is the Energon?" Megatron demanded.

"Follow us." Blitzwing insisted, switching to his pixelated face. "Oooooh, I can't wait to see the expressions on your faceplates!"

Megatron just rolled his optics as he followed the two cons inside. The cave grew dark as they left the light of the surface behind, but before any of them could activate their lights, a faint blue glow began to illuminate the caves. It grew ever brighter as they entered a giant chamber, the sight of which had all the Decepticons speechless.

The cave was covered in large, glowing blue crystals. They were all over the walls, the ceilings, and even hung down in large clusters like fancy chandeliers. From the sheer amount of them, it was clear this cluster had been growing for several millennia at least.

"By the All Spark…" Knockout let out.

"I haven't seen this much Energon since the war began." Starscream marveled.

"So… this is what Optimus was after." Megatron mused. "A pity for him we found it first."

Soundwave scanned the cavern, taking in the Energon and running some calculations. Eventually, his faceplate pinged.

"Estimated amount of Energon: Unknown. Estimated time of excavation: Unknown."

"Do you believe there is enough to restart Cybertron?" Megatron questioned.

There was a slight pause before Soundwave answered.

"Affirmative."

"Then we start mining immediately!" Megatron declared. "Gather the vehicons. Have them transport the remains of the Nemesis here. We will work on the repairs while we gather the means of our inevitable victory against the Autobots. And this time… nothing will stop the reign of Megatron!"

...

Agent Fowler arrived at the remains of the Joint Base, amazed by the amount of carnage there was. Emergency crews were working overtime to put out fires and pull survivors from the rubble. Those that had already been recovered were being tended to in large medical tents. What put Fowler on edge was the number of white blankets lined up along the runway, covering the bodies of those soldiers killed in the battle.

"Agent Fowler!" The general in charge called out, running up to the man. "Headquarters said you were coming."

"General." Fowler greeted, shaking his hand. "Sorry for your losses. Any idea what did this?"

"I'll be honest sir, I've never seen anything like this." The General admitted. "You're going to think I'm nuts."

"Son, I've seen enough crazy stuff during my time as an Army Ranger." Fowler retorted. "Just try me."

The General took a deep breath, then let out a sigh.

"Sir… we were attacked by giant robots." he explained.

Fowler was taken aback by the answer, raising a skeptical eye.

"Something tells me I'm gonna need the full story." he surmised.

"I sent a team to intercept the ten bogies that were detected." The General explained. "We brought them back to base and attempted to have the crew exit the planes. That's when the planes… transformed into giant, killer robots. They attacked the base, did something that allowed them to take on the form of our various aerial vehicles, and attempted to steal classified files from the information hub."

"You're kidding me." Fowler let out. "That's the second breach I've had to deal with in the last week!"

"With all due respect sir, I doubt very seriously that the first breach was caused by a robot landing on the main computer tower and destroying the firewalls like they were nothing." The General replied.

Agent Fowler went to retort, but his words were caught on his tongue as he processed what the General had said.

"Say that again?" he asked.

"I said the robot just landed on the tower-"

"And just started downloading files?" Fowler interjected, recalling the footage he'd been reviewing. "That can't be a coincidence."

"Sir?" The General let out, utterly confused. "What are you saying?"

Fowler turned and began walking away.

"I'm saying that there's more to these attacks then meets the eye." He answered. "Something big's about to go down, and I need to find out what."


	8. Human Resources

A couple of weeks had passed since the Autobots emerged from stasis. Since then, they'd been working overtime to get everything in order. They'd manage to excavate the Ark from the side of the mountain, transporting it inside for repairs. On top of that, Ratchet had been working on updating the tech in the missile silo, as well as adding a few features to make traveling incognito easier. At the moment, he was putting the finishing touches on his latest project.

"That… should… do it." he declared, closing up a panel on a large control console.

He got up slowly, his joints creaking slightly. He let out a slight groan.

"I'm getting too old for this." he muttered, slowly bending and extending his legs to work out the kinks.

As he did, Massacre walked over, glancing at the completed contraption. Upon seeing the shut panel and the stretching bot, her faceplate broke out into a grin.

"Is it finally finished?" She asked.

"It should be." Ratchet answered, stopping his stretching before gathering his tools into their box. "I didn't think it was possible to construct a working Ground Bridge using primarily earth technology, but I think I finally got it. I just need to test it."

"Well, I volunteer my services." she offered. "I'll be able to blend in easier than the others, especially with the upgraded nanoskin."

"It would be a good test of the new skin." Ratchet admitted. "Give me a few minutes to set coordinates."

"Might I suggest somewhere nearby." Optimus spoke up, approaching the pair. "Your last test left Bulkhead stranded in Haiti for a week."

"Yeah, I enjoy the sun as much as the next bot, but I'm still cleaning sand out of my gears." Bulkhead piped up, cocking his head to side to dislodge some of the aforementioned sand.

"Yes, yes, of course." Ratchet grumbled. "Science is both trial and error you know."

"Still, why don't we just stick with the edge of the city?" Massacre suggested. "That way I can walk back in human mode no problem."

"Of course." Ratchet replied.

As Ratchet pressed a few buttons on his console, Massacre transformed into her human mode, which now had her wearing a white tee-shirt with a blue vest over it, a dark blue skirt, with black and white sneakers. She even had a pair of glasses over her eyes. She looked herself over, giving a twirl.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"Quite well," Ratchet commended. "For an organic."

She let out a mock gasp of indignation, lightly punching Ratchet's ankle. He chuckled slightly, then he set the coordinates. He then pulled on a pair of levers, activating a trail of rings that lit up one by one before a large green portal appeared.

"Alright, let's see if this works." Massacre let out.

She then ran through the portal, jumping through it.

...

The portal crackled to life, opening up as Massacre came running out. She dropped down to the ground, giving a three-point landing as the portal closed behind her. As she straightened up and looked around, she found herself in the middle of a large highway. From the dense woods on either side of the road, it was clear she was far from civilization. Next to her was a sign that read "Detroit - 2 miles." She straightened up, glancing at the sign before smiling.

"Massacre to Base." she declared. "I made it. Ground Bridge is a success."

 _"Excellent."_ Ratchet replied. _"Opening return bridge, now."_

Ratchet tried to open up the bridge again, but that's when several error messages began popping up on the screen. He let out a groan of irritation, slamming his fist on the console.

" _Blasted Earth tech..._ " he swore. " _If it isn't already broken, it's either falling apart or basically useless!_ "

"Guess I'm walking back to base, huh." Massacre let out.

 _"So it seems."_ Ratchet replied. _"What I wouldn't give for some decent Cybertronian technology."_

"Easy Ratchet." Massacre teased. "You're liable to blow a gasket, and we wouldn't want that."

" _I'll have you know that my engine is in good condition, thank you very much._ " Ratchet retorted indignantly.

Massacre smirked.

"Then put it in neutral." she insisted. "You'll need every bit of ram you got to figure out the Ground Bridge."

 _"Yeah, yeah, I know."_ he grumbled. _"At least this will let you put the new nanoskin to proper use."_

"Exactly." she said, sliding her hands into her pockets. "So I better put metal to the pedal. See you when I get back. Massacre out."

With that, Massacre started walking down the street towards the base.

...

In the wake of the attack on the Military base, Fowler had put out an APB out on his mystery girl, which heavy focus on the Detroit area since it was her last known location. All police officers in town were on high alert, keeping a sharp eye out for her, including Fanzone. The Sergeant had been placed on traffic duty for the past two weeks after the incident with Fowler, and he was itching for a little justice.

"Damn brat..." he muttered, sipping at his fifth cup of coffee that shift.

As he sat and waited for something to do, a familiar face walked past his car. He did a spit take, coughing up his coffee as he spotted the mystery girl walking down the street. Wiping his mouth, he let out a grin.

"Well how about that." Fanzone remarked before grabbing his radio. "This is Sergeant Fanzone to all units. We have positive ID on our Jane Doe at the corner of Bayside and Palmer."

" _10-4 Fanzone._ " Dispatch replied. " _All units to Bayside and Palmer. Be warned that suspect is considered dangerous and officers are to proceed with caution._ "

Fanzone then hung the radio up, turning on the car and slowly going after her. Massacre continued making her way, whistling slightly as she walked. That's when her instincts told her she was being followed. Doing her best to be discrete, she glanced in the side view mirror of a nearby parked car, spotting Fanzone. She recognized him immediately, letting out a curse.

"Scrap." she swore.

She picked up the pace of her walk, testing to see if he was really following her. Unfortunately, he sped up to meet her pace.

"Prime, we've got trouble." she declared. "That cop from before? He's following me."

 _"We cannot afford for you to be captured again, nor arouse anymore suspicion."_ Prime told her. _"You need to lose him, but be discreet about it."_

"Right, stay in human mode." she replied. "Got it."

She then spun on her heels, running in the opposite direction of Fanzone's car. Fanzone growled in frustration as Massacre bolted down the street.

"All units," Fanzone said into his radio. "Suspect is fleeing on foot down Bayside. Pursue and detain by any means."

Massacre continued running, dodging and weaving to avoid the few people on the streets. She rounded a corner, seeing several flashing lights approaching her. She skidded to a stop, going the other way, only to meet the same result.

"They're boxing me in!" she cried out.

" _Easy, Flygirl._ " Bulkhead told her. " _These ain't the first enemies that tried to corner you. Remember back during the battle of Moon Base 2?_ "

"You mean when that swarm of vehicons caught me while I was leaking Energon?" Massacre questioned. "What does-?"

She cut herself off, remembering how she'd managed to elude the pursuing vehicons.

"Bulkhead, you're a genius." she commended.

 _"You mind telling Ratchet that?"_ Bulkhead asked.

Ignoring him for the moment, she looked around, seeing a small gap in between two buildings. Grinning, she darted inside, knowing the opening was far too small for the cars to follow.

"They'll have to follow me in on foot, leaving them slower and more vulnerable." Massacre declared. "Just like back on Moon base 2."

As predicted, the cops got out of their cars and made their way into the alley. Massacre kept running through, eventually meeting a dead end. A chain link fence blocked her way, one she couldn't tear open without revealing herself.

"Not good." she muttered.

She turned around, just as the cops caught up with her. They all had their guns trained on her, to which she slowly raised her hands. Thinking fast, she leapt into the air and flipped over the fence, landing on the other side.

"Sorry!" she called out before taking off once again.

The cops stared at her, blinking in surprise.

"Uh, what just happened?" Fanzone questioned.

"I… I don't know sir." the cop answered.

...

Fanzone sat in a mobile headquarters he'd set up in the city, listening in on the chatter amongst the cops. His eyes narrowed as they reported their loss of the suspect.

" _Dispatch, this is Fanzone… the Jane Doe got away._ "

" _What happened?_ " Dispatch questioned.

" _She uh… she jumped over a fence._ " Fanzone replied. " _As in jumped, did a backflip, then landed on the other side of a ten-foot fence like it was nothing._ "

 _"Ok…"_

 _"I ain't making this up, Samuel!"_ Fanzone insisted. " _Whatever this girl is, I don't think she's human!"_

Fowler did a cut motion, the techs ending the feed. He slumped back in his chair, pondering over everything he had heard.

"Sir, are you alright?" one of the techs asked.

"A teenage girl just made Detroit's finest look like a bunch of elementary schoolers." Fowler retorted. "How do you think I'm doing?"

"Sir, do you think he's right?" another tech asked. "Y'know, about this girl not being human?"

"It would explain why there's no record of her anywhere." a third tech interjected.

"That's the prevailing theory." Fowler replied. "You wouldn't happen to have anything useful, would you?"

"Only that until the Park Rangers found her near Mt. 23rd street, she essentially didn't exist." the second tech reported.

"Mt.23rd Street…" Fowler repeated, thinking something over. "Isn't that where that decommissioned missile silo is located?"

"Let me check." the first tech requested.

Fowler got up, walking over to the tech's station as he opened the file.

"Yes sir." he replied. "It was decommissioned during the Cold War after an earthquake nearly buried the team."

"Hmm…" Fowler let out. "I wonder…"

...

Massacre made it back to the Autobot base, transforming into robot mode before flopping against a wall.

"Well, that was certainly an eventful outing." she remarked.

"No doubt the Detroit Police Department are kicking themselves right now." Prowl guessed.

"I guess you made more of an impression on them then we initially believed." Ratchet spoke up. "And now you're probably gonna be plastered all over the news."

"Great..." she grumbled. "I finally get to test my new human form, and I've got a target on my back within nano-kliks."

"We will deal with this situation as it progresses." Prime told her. "Let us just focus on our current tasks."

"Yeah." Bulkhead agreed. "The ship still needs massive repairs, we're running low on Energon, and-"

That's when alarms began blaring and red lights began flashing.

"-and the proximity sensors just went off." Bulkhead added.

"Think the authorities managed to follow Massacre here?" Prowl asked.

"I was super careful." Massacre insisted. "No one could have followed me."

Bumblebee let out a long series of chirps, which earned him a glare from Massacre.

"What do you mean 'Maybe I got rusty'?" she snapped.

"Well we were in stasis for who knows how many stellar cycles." Bulkhead added.

"Is this really a prevalent conversation?" Prowl questioned.

"Prowl is right." Prime agreed. "Massacre, do what you can to calm the authorities. Autobots, fall back and conceal yourselves until the authorities leave."

The Autobots nod as they move towards the back of the base and Massacre transforms into her human mode. The second she did, a large elevator that lead to the surface opened up, allowing several Black-ops soldiers to pour in. They were all decked out in full assault gear, aiming high-powered rifles at Massacre. She lifted her hands slowly as Agent Fowler walked in.

"Nice to finally meet you in person." Fowler told her. "My name is Special Agent William Fowler. I gotta say, you're a hard person to find."

"Uh… thanks?" she let out, glancing at all the men nervously. "Look, I don't know why you're after me, but I'm just a normal-"

"You can cut the BS." Fowler cut off. "After that little stunt you pulled at the police station, I think it's safe to say you're anything but normal."

Massacre gulped. If she was capable of sweating, she would have been drenched by this point.

"I can explain..." she insisted, currently wracking her processor to try and come up with an idea of just how to do that.

"I hope you can." Fowler told her. "Cause some freaks pulled the same trick at an army base in Alaska, and killed a lot of good men to pull it off!"

That brought Massacre's thoughts to a screeching halt.

"What did you say?" she asked, her voice quiet with fear and dread.

"I said that something with hacking skills similar to yours invaded a military base, killing nearly everyone there." Fowler elaborated. "So, anything you'd like to get off your chest?"

"The Decepticons..." she whispered, lowering her arms in shock. "They're here too..."

"Kid, you better tell me what in the name of Paul Revere's horse you're talking about." Fowler insisted.

She let out a sigh.

"It's hard to explain, especially to someone who isn't… in the know." she explained. "Besides, I'm not the person best suited to answer that question."

"Then direct me to who is." Fowler demanded. "Now."

"That would be me." Prime's voice echoed.

Fowler looked over the edge of the safety railing around the elevator stairs to see Optimus driving towards him in vehicle mode. The rest of the Autobots were behind him, maintaining vehicle mode as well.

"Please tell me that your boss is in the truck." Fowler almost begged.

"Not exactly." Prime replied before switching into robot mode.

The other Autobots followed suit, transforming into robot mode. The men all trained their weapons on the robots, causing them all to follow Massacre's lead in raising their arms.

"Easy there." Ratchet insisted. "We're not the bad guys here."

"You'll understand if we're a little on edge." Fowler replied. "After all, 10 robots that look a lot like you decimated an entire military base in less than an hour."

"They are our enemies, the Decepticons." Optimus explained. "We have no alliance with them."

"I don't suppose you can prove this." Fowler questioned.

"Listen, we've been stuck here for the past couple deca-cycles." Bulkhead insisted. "You think this place cleaned itself up?"

"Perhaps the data tracks for the time of the attack would help to prove the legitimacy of our claims." Prowl offered up.

"Data tracks?" Fowler asked.

"Every Autobot can be tracked via their spark." Massacre explained. "They give off a unique signature that, with the right software, can give you the bots exact location."

"Alright then, kid." Fowler decided, giving her a nod. "Show me."

Massacre nodded before slowly going over to the main console. Teletraan One had been transferred into the main console while the Ark was under repairs, and with a few quick keystrokes, Massacre brought the AI online.

"Teletraan One, access data tracks for…" She trailed off before turning to Fowler. "When was the attack?"

"About two weeks ago." Fowler answered. "November 12th"

"Right. Teletraan One, access data tracks from the 12th and display on screen."

The computer then began displaying a global map. It zoomed in until it focused on Detroit, showing six life signals milling about the missile silo. It played through on fast forward, the signals never leaving the base. Fowler did a quick headcount of the robots, the numbers adding up.

"Stand down men!" Fowler ordered.

The men lowered their weapons, though clearly remained wary. Still, it was progress. The Autobots lowered their arms as Massacre turned to Agent Fowler.

"So, I guess you're willing to listen now?" she spoke up.

"Alright fellas, I'll hear you out." Fowler relented. "What's your story?"

Bumblebee chirped and buzzed, earning a chuckle from both Bulkhead and Massacre. Fowler just raised an eyebrow.

"Come again?" he asked.

"He said you might want to sit down." Bulkhead translated. "This might take a while."

...

Fowler had sent most of his men back outside, leaving him alone with the bots. Massacre had procured him a chair, taking one for herself as they both sat down on the raised platform. This put the two of them at eye level with the Autobots as Optimus began his tale.

"We are creatures known as Autobots." Optimus began. "We hail from a planet known as Cybertron."

"Creative." Fowler quipped. "How many of you are there?"

"As far as we know, only we six Autobots exist on this Earth." Optimus explained. "As far as the Decepticons go, we don't know how many are out there."

"Typical." Fowler spat. "How'd you bots even end up here? Don't tell me it was some accident that stranded you here."

"Sort of." Ratchet corrected. "We were fully intending to come to the planet. We simply ran into some… unforeseen obstacles."

"By obstacles, you mean your Decepticon buddies I'm guessing." Fowler said.

"They assaulted our vessel while we were in transit to this world." Prowl picked up. "During the fight, our ship was damaged and we were forced to crash in this mountain."

"We are unaware of how long ago we arrived here." Prowl spoke up. "Only that it has been many stellar cycles since our crash."

"And unfortunately, our ship ain't going nowhere anytime soon." Bulkhead added, gesturing to the Ark with his thumb.

"Can you phone some of your Autobot buddies to come help you?" Fowler asked.

"Even if we had the means to do so, I fear that our planet lacks the necessary resources to provide us with the necessary aid." Ratchet answered.

"And… we do not know if anyone will be there to heed our call." Prime lamented.

"So… you're stuck here, then." Fowler deduced.

"Afraid so." Ratchet told him.

Fowler let out a groan, rubbing his temple to try and alleviate a growing headache.

"So, if I may ask, what brought you to our planet in the first place?" Fowler asked.

"Mainly because our world is incapable of sustaining life." Prime explained. "Our planet is dying. Ravaged by centuries of war, and drained of its once rich sources of Energon, the fuel and life force of our race."

"Scientists on our planet have theorized that organic resources could be used to create a synthetic Energon." Ratchet continued. "We already know that previous organic theories had been proven true, and in the desperate times, we're willing to do whatever it takes to save our planet."

"Previous organic theories?" Fowler asked. "Why do I have a feeling this is related to what's going on?"

"This is where I come in." Massacre spoke up.

He turned to her, slightly leery of what she had to say.

"Approximately 15,000 stellar cycles ago, the Cybertronian Organic Research Division, or Cord, came to this planet in search of organic specimens to study. They left with various fauna, and an organic child."

She gave a small wave at that.

"That's me by the way." she added.

"You?" Fowler questioned. "No offense, but you don't look over fifteen thousand years old."

"Well, I suppose that's one benefit to my… condition." she replied.

"Condition?" Fowler repeated.

Massacre sighed, the got up, walking to the edge of the railing. She vaulted over it, transforming in mid-air before straightening up in her full Autobot glory. Fowler stumbled out of his chair, his eyes going wide.

"Son of a Benedict Arnold!" he let out.

"Trust me, the feeling was mutual." Bulkhead quipped, earning an elbow from Massacre.

"Massacre here was used as part of a science experiment by the Decepticons to revitalize one of their fallen warriors." Ratchet explained.

"With a name like Massacre, I can imagine why." Fowler interjected.

Massacre rubbed her arm uncomfortably, Prowl putting a servo on her shoulder. Ratchet made a noise similar to clearing his throat, and continued.

"Yes, well as you can guess, their experiment failed, and the organic took control of the body." Ratchet resumed. "She's been on our side ever since."

"And the… shrinking thing?" Fowler asked.

"Condensement Matrix." Massacre supplied, as if that explained everything.

"Right… of course." Fowler replied, sarcastically. "How silly of me."

Deciding it wasn't worth wasting time over, he sat back down as he tried to process this information.

"So, let me see if I've got this straight." he began. "You six are the good guys, while the ones who destroyed the base are the bad guys. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're both after this 'synthetic Energon' or whatever, and until you get it, you're not gonna be able to leave."

"Essentially." Prime confirmed.

Fowler let out another groan.

"Oh the Pentagon is gonna love this one..." he muttered.

"What will you do now, Agent Fowler?" Prowl questioned.

"First, let my superiors know the situation." Fowler replied. "Then see if we can find these 'Decepticons'."

Ratchet snorted.

"Then what are you gonna do, hurtle your primitive tech at them?" He quipped.

"You got a better idea?" Fowler asked.

"Yeah, let us handle the Decepticons." Bulkhead insisted, gesturing to the Autobots as a whole.

"You expect me to just kick back while a bunch of alien robots hash out a centuries long civil war in our own backyard?" Fowler questioned. "Sorry, not gonna happen."

"Hear me Agent Fowler." Prime spoke up. "I know you wish to protect your world, but military involvement would only lead to widespread panic among the planet's populous, and incalculable human losses. Need I remind you what they did at your military base?"

Fowler felt his bravado drop at that. The sight of all those white cloths had his hands shaking. He clenched them into fists to try and steady them.

"Fine," He relented. "But I'm still gonna have to tell my bosses. If for no other reason, so they won't shoot at you."

"If it's any consolation, we have no desire to show ourselves to humans." Prime spoke up. "We will act as Robots in disguise, and do our best to contain the damage the Decepticons may bring upon this world."

"Just make sure that damage is contained, and we'll call it square." Fowler replied.

He prepared to walk away, but that's when Massacre's hand came down in his path.

"Sorry." she immediately apologized. "I-uh… I have a personal request, if you don't mind."

"What'd you have in mind?" Fowler asked.

She jumped, transforming back into her human mode before landing in front of Fowler. He looked away as her clothes formed, slightly embarrassed.

"I want to be able to blend in with the rest of humanity." she explained. "And considering what happened today, I'm clearly gonna need some help. That, and… I may need a name I can give people that isn't defined as 'Mass Murder'."

"Right." Fowler recognized. "I have some friends in the Department of Health and Human Resources that might be able to make something up for you. However, since you appear to be in your teenage years, you'll have to enroll in school at some point. Keep up appearances and all that."

"Whatever it takes." Massacre insisted.

"I'll get back to you once I have the necessary paperwork." Fowler told her. "In the meantime, try not to cause any major catastrophes."

"Many thanks, Agent Fowler." Optimus replied.

"Thank me by kicking these Decepticons off my planet and half way across the galaxy." Fowler told him. "Then we'll call it square."

He walked into the elevator, the door shutting behind him as he left. The silo fell silent for a bit before Bulkhead spoke up.

"That went better than expected."

"Agent Fowler is just concerned for his planet." Prime told him. "As he should be. The news of the Decepticons being on this planet means that we have a new mission. We must protect the inhabitants of this world from whatever they have planned."

"Just another day in the office." Massacre quipped.


	9. New Organics

_Sumdac High School: The start of the Spring Semester._

Winter break was over, much too soon in the opinion of 16 year old Jeffrey White. He had brown hair, dark eyes, and gave off the general attitude of your typical teenager. Adjusting his old backpack onto his shoulder, he didn't hear the footsteps of his best friend until he literally jumped onto his back.

"WHAZZUP!" The energetic 17 year old shouted, nearly knocking Jeffrey off his feet.

"Whoa!" Jeffrey let out. "Watch it Spike!"

He dislodged Spike from his back, sending him plummeting to the ground. Spike shook his head, wild blonde locks sticking out in every direction.

"What, I can't say hi to the only person in the school I actually tolerate?" He questioned, crossing his arms.

"You can, just as long as you don't cause said person severe bodily harm." Jeffrey told him.

"Aw, come on Jeffrey." Spike let out, getting to his feet. "Like I could ever hurt you."

Jeffrey just rolled his eyes good naturedly before continuing down the hall. Spike hurried to catch up, giving his friend a sly grin.

"So, you finally gonna work up the nerve to talk to Sari?" he asked.

"I think so." Jeffrey replied.

"I dunno." Spike teased. "Every time you see her, you do the impression of a parrot. One with laryngitis."

"It'll be different this time!" Jeffrey insisted.

"What will be different?" A female voice asked.

Both Jeffrey and Spike turned to see a girl standing next to them. She had bright red hair done up in twin pigtails with two barrettes holding back her bangs. She wore a peach-colored dress with a light blue necklace that was almost the same color of her eyes. Her skin was a caramel color, and her teeth were bright white as she flashes a small smile.

"Oh, uh… hi Sari." Jeffrey mustered out.

Sari giggled slightly.

"Hi Jeffrey." she greeted. "You ready for Algebra?"

"Uh, yeah!" Jeffery let out, a bit too excitedly. "I mean, yeah. I… I think I got it."

"Well, I guess I'll see you there." she said.

With that, she walked off, Jeffrey watching her go with every step. Spike just chuckled to himself.

"I'm not sure that counts as 'talking' to her, but it's a start." he spoke.

"Well what did you expect me to do?" Jeffrey asked. "Ask her out on the spot?"

"No, what happened is basically what I expected." Spike informed him.

At that moment, the bell rang, drawing the attention of the boys. They blinked, finally noticing that the hallways were empty save for the two of them.

"We better go." Jeffrey told him.

"Good idea." Spike replied.

With that, the two boys ran off.

...

Spike and Jeffery made it to class in just the nick of time, taking their seats in the back of the classroom. As the bell finished ringing, their teacher, Mr. Darby, stood up in front of the whole classroom.

"Welcome back, everyone." he greeted. "I hope you all had a good winter break. Now, we have a new student joining us this semester. I want you all to behave yourselves and be nice."

The door opened, and in walked a girl with long black hair up in a ponytail and bright blue eyes that were accentuated by a pair of black glasses. She gave a warm smile to the class as she turned to them all.

"My name's Melissa Tobor." she announced. "It's nice to meet you all."

Jeffrey felt a sharp elbow in his side, coming from Spike's desk. He turned, seeing his friend mouthing the words "hot babe alert".

"Can it." Jeffrey whispered.

"Mr. White, is there something you wish to share with the rest of the class?" Mr. Darby called out.

"Uh, no… sir." Jeffrey quickly replied.

Mr. Darby raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Uh-huh." he let out before turning to Melissa. "Miss Tobor, you can sit next to Mr. White. Just be sure not to pick up any of his bad habits."

Melissa gave a nod, then walked towards the desk on the other side of Jeffrey. She set her stuff down, then looked up at Jeffrey, giving a small wave.

"Hi." she greeted.

"Hi." Jeffrey replied. "I'm Jeffrey."

"Melissa." she offered, holding out a hand. "I hope we can be friends."

"I think we can." Jeffrey replied.

She smiled brighter, then they both turned back to class to focus on the lesson.

...

As lunch time rolled around, Jeffrey sat down on the stoop of the school with his bagged lunch. As he reached in to grab his food, the bag was snatched up by an overeager Spike.

"Let me guess, PB and J again?" He asked. "Dude, what's the point of having open campus lunch if you just pack the same boring lunch every day?"

"Saves money." Jeffrey reasoned. "Now, can I have my lunch back, please?"

"Nope." Spike declared, hopping down onto the sidewalk. "Today, we're going out for lunch. You want to know why?"

"Why?" Jeffrey questioned, slightly annoyed.

"Because the new girl has a 1977 Chevy Camaro!" Spike cheered. "She's got your car, dude! It's even got the racing stripe!"

"What?!" Jeffrey let out.

"No kidding." Spike insisted. "Come on!"

The two ran off towards the parking lot, seeing Melissa sitting on the hood of the car. Jeffry's jaw dropped at the sight.

"No way..." He let out.

Melissa didn't see them at first, her attention diverted to a small earpiece in her ear.

"Class has been interesting." she said to whomever was on the other line. "No, I've had no trouble blending in. Yes I'm being careful. Yes, I promise I really am being careful. Honestly, this is school, not a battlefield."

"Hey there." Spike spoke up, walking over to her.

Melissa looked over and saw the two boys.

"Gotta go." she said into the earpiece. "I'll see you later."

She then hopped off the hood, smiling at the boys.

"Hey, didn't see you there." she told him. "It's Sam right? Sam Will Icky?"

"It's Spike actually." He corrected. "Spike Witwicky."

Melissa gave a slow nod, then noticed Jeffrey's stare.

"I take it you're eying the car." she guessed.

"It's a thing of beauty." Spike commented. "I've always wanted a car like this."

"He's something else, isn't he?" Melissa smirked, running her hand on the hood.

"He?" Jeffrey questioned.

Melissa caught herself, grunting slightly.

"Uh... yeah." she replied hastily. "I mean, the car's too fast and sleek to be a girl, so it's a guy."

"Well, does he have a no food rule?" Spike questioned.

Melissa blinked at the odd question.

"No… why?"

"Because Jeffrey and I are just craving some KO burgers, but the closest one's five miles down the street." Spike said, wrapping an arm around Jeffrey. "You mind giving us a lift?"

Melissa glanced down at the car, which seemed to buzz slightly. Then she smiled once again.

"Don't mind at all." she answered. "Hop in."

The two turned to each other and smiled before getting into the car with Melissa and driving off towards KO Burger.

...

In another part of Detroit, Knockout was skulking in a dark alley, searching for the perfect disguise. Breakdown was with him, getting thoroughly annoyed with how long this was taking.

"Would you just pick a vehicle mode already?" He demanded.

"Listen Breakdown, I can't just pick any rust bucket for my wheels." Knockout insisted. "Why do you think I drove all the way out here to the 'Automotive capital of the country'?"

"You mean besides to waste my time?" Breakdown quipped.

"This place is the epitome of vehicular style and the only place that will have an appropriate form for me to choose." Knockout rationalized. "Now shut up and let me focus."

Breakdown's optical sensors rolled as he entered his own vehicle mode, a jeep, and drove off.

"I'll check back in about a cycle." he informed his companion. "You better have a vehicle mode by then, or I swear to Unicron I'll-"

He was cut off when he caught glimpse of a familiar yellow and black paint job streaking down the street. On a hunch, he did a quick scan of the vehicle, detecting traces of Cybertronian tech. Had he been in robot mode, he would have been grinning. He quickly patched a line in to the Nemesis, getting in contact with Soundwave.

"Breakdown to Soundwave." he called out. "I've located one of our old friends. The Autobot Bumblebee is here. And if he's here, Prime ain't far behind."

" _Acknowledged_." Soundwave replied. " _Maintain surveillance and report back._ "

"You got it." he replied.

He then drove down the street, following after Bumblebee.

...

" _Hello and welcome to KO Burger, where every burger's a knockout_." the drive thru speaker broadcasted. " _What can I get for you today?_ "

"Hi, we'll take three gut buster combos, extra-large fries, and mega-cokes." Spike announced before turning to the other two in the car. "What do you guys want?"

Melissa gave him a weird look.

"Is it normal to eat that much food?" she asked.

"It is when Spike's in the car." Jeffrey remarked. "That should do it."

" _That'll be 24.97 at the next window._ " the drive thru speaker announced.

Melissa pulled forward, approaching the window. As they did, Jeffrey glances over to the side.

"Huh." he let out. "Is it just me, or has that jeep been circling the block ever since we got here?"

Melissa looked over and saw the same jeep turning the corner. Her eyes narrowed, and for a moment, her irises seemed to dilate, almost like camera lenses. As it came by for another round, she got a good look at it and gasped.

"Scrap." she hissed.

"Everything ok?" Jeffrey asked.

Melissa looked over at him, clearly nervous. The car began buzzing again, seeming almost frantic. After looking at the dashboard, then at the two boys, she came to a decision.

"Prime's gonna slag me." she muttered before gripping the wheel. "Seat belts!"

The seatbelts lowered on their own accord, strapping the boys in.

"What the-" the two let out.

"Floor it, Bee!"

The car screeched out of the drive thru, Spike barely able to grab his lunch before they did. The kid at the drive thru looked out at them in anger.

"Hey!" he called out. "That comes out of my paycheck!"

"Sorry!" Spike called out.

The jeep rounded the corner just in time to see the yellow car peeling out.

"Scrap!" the jeep exclaimed, hitting the gas and pursuing them.

Spike peered out the window to see the jeep in hot pursuit of them.

"So, do you owe this guy money or something?" He asked.

"Let's just say that his boss is mad at me for stealing his girlfriend…'s body." she replied, still gripping onto the wheel

"Uh… what?" Jeffrey let out.

The car veered hard to the right, nearly throwing the three of them into the sides of the car. The jeep remained hot on their tail, despite the yellow Camaro weaving in and out of traffic. They, even veered into the opposite lane every now and then, expertly dodging oncoming vehicles. The jeep was doing equally as well, never losing the trail.

"How do you steal a body?" Jeffrey asked frantically.

"You're not into necrophilia, are you?" Spike inquired.

"It's a long story, and frack no!" Melissa answered.

She then turned the wheel hard, spinning them hard before taking off down an opposite exit. She cut off five cars to do it, but succeeded without a single dent. The jeep took a more direct approach, literally veering off the road to try and cut them off.

"Scrap!" Melissa cursed. "The son of a glitch just won't put it in park!"

The car buzzed again and Melissa glared at the radio.

"I know he's not alone!" she screamed. "That's tactics 101!"

"Uh… maybe we should call the cops." Jeffrey suggested.

"Trust me, human law enforcement would be way over their head with this." Melissa told him, hitting a few buttons on the dash. "Prime, this is Melissa. We've got a bogey on our tail."

"Human law enforcement?" Jeffrey asked. "And who's Prime?"

At that moment, the dash lit up, and the radio began broadcasting a voice.

" _Prime here. Have you been able to identify the pursuer?"_

"Negative." she answered. "But they're clearly Decepticon. That much I know. One of the ground troops, but not a Vehicon."

" _Understood. You need to lose your pursuers. An open assault in a public area would lead to far too many casualties_."

"Easier said than done, Prime." she told him. "I've got two organics in the vehicle. I've already broke protocol just driving off with them."

" _I see. Your best course of action would be to make sure the humans are taken somewhere safe before anything else can be done about the Decepticon_."

"Copy that Prime, Melissa out."

The dash dimmed once more, switching to what looked like a GPS map.

"Bee, think you can get us to that drainage junction?" she asked. "Looks like it's the best place."

The car buzzed once again, veering off to head that direction.

"Care to explain what the hell is going on here?" Spike insisted.

"Who are you?" Jeffrey questioned. "Or better yet, WHAT are you? Who is prime? And why did you sound like someone in a war movie."

"The less you know about me, the better." She told them. "Trust me, I already let too much slip al-"

The jeep suddenly rammed into them hard, nearly throwing them off the road. The car swerved down into a long, concrete canal, just narrowly avoiding rolling onto its side. The car buzzed frantically as Melissa wrestled with the wheel, trying to straighten them out. Eventually, the car came to a stop under the shade of a bridge. Melissa let out a few deep breaths, then straightened up. The seatbelts released, and she turned to the boys.

"Get out." she ordered.

The two wasted no time getting out of the car and running off. They scrambled up the ledge of the canal, hiding themselves right under the bridge. Melissa then climbed out herself, turning towards the jeep as it rolled down to join them. She closed the car door, walking towards it as the Jeep rolled to a stop.

"Should've known you'd show yourselves eventually." She declared. "But I thought Megatron taught you better than to be so obvious in your observations."

The Jeep then transformed, turning into the towering figure of Breakdown as he stared down Melissa and the yellow car. Jeffrey's jaw dropped and Spike had to cover his mouth to keep from screaming. The yellow car then pulled off a similar transformation, becoming Bumblebee. He buzzed angrily, pointing at Breakdown as if to identify him.

"Give the bot a medal." Breakdown remarked before pounding his fist into his hand. "Though I gotta say, your pet organic's got some bearings."

Melissa chuckled, then her entire body began to grow and morph, becoming Massacre. Now Jeffrey had to cover his mouth to keep from screaming, he and Spike exchanging looks as Massacre, or Melissa as she was known now, pounded her own fist into her hand.

"Who said I was an organic?" she sneered.

Breakdown was genuinely shocked by this development, but quickly shook it off.

"Massacre." he greeted. "Thought you went offline stellar cycles ago."

"I'm a hard bot to shut down." she quipped. "Let's see if you can say the same!"

Breakdown morphed one of his hands into a hammer and charged at Massacre. Her hands became long swords and she grinned, meeting his charge. The two clashed blows for a bit before Bumblebee ran up and punched Breakdown in the face, knocking him back. He then held out his arms as blasters came out of the wrists, allowing him to shoot at Breakdown. The Decepticon brought up his arms to try and block the blows, grunting with every hit.

As this went on, the two boys hiding in the shadows were still completely and utterly shocked by what they were witnessing. Slowly lowering their hands, they faced one another.

"Dude..." Spike let out. "Please tell me you're seeing what I'm seeing."

"Depends," Jeffrey replied. "Did you see that girl and two cars transform into giant robots that are currently trying to kill each other?"

"Yeah..." Spike said quietly. "What the hell is going on? I am like twelve different levels of confused right now."

"You're asking me?!" Jeffrey responded. "I'm as clueless as you are."

"Which ones are the good guys?" Spike wondered. "I mean, Melissa did say she stole a body..."

"Yeah, from the guys that tried to kill us." Jeffrey reminded.

"But what good guy steals a body?" Spike rationalized.

Suddenly, Melissa got sucker punched, skidding across the ground and under the bridge slightly. When she saw the two boys hiding, she went wide-eyed.

"You're still here?" she hissed. "You need to run! Get out of here!"

"Not until we get some straight answers!" Jeffrey called back.

"Are you fracking with me right now?" she exclaimed. "This is way too dangerous for you! Get out of here!"

She then got up and rushed at Breakdown again, tackling him to the ground. Breakdown then grabbed her and threw her aside. She rebounded hard as Bumblebee came in for a charge. Breakdown got back to his feet as Bumblebee fired off a volley of shots at the Decepticon. Breakdown held his arms up to block himself from the shots, managing to shoot Bumblebee right in the chest plate. He went flying back, right into Melissa. The two were a mess of groaning metal and tangled servos as Breakdown closed in.

"Two bots," He let out, forming his hand into a hammer again, "One blow."

Before he could do anything, a swirling blue and green portal opened up, revealing a speeding red and blue semi, a large green ATV, and a police motorcycle with no driver. The vehicles landed between Breakdown and the two fallen bots, transforming into Optimus, Bulkhead, and Prowl. From their hiding spot under the bridge, the boys felt all the color drain from their faces.

"There's more of them." Spike squeaked.

"Who's ready to rumble?!" Bulkhead let out, pounding his fist.

Breakdown took one look at the gathering bots and quickly returned his hand to normal.

"Another time perhaps." He declared, transforming and speeding off.

The bots watched him go as Bee slowly got off Melissa, helping her to her feet.

"What kept you?" She asked.

"Thought you could handle a single Con by yourself." Bulkhead quipped.

Bumblebee buzzed and chirped, pointing over at the bridge where the two boys were hiding.

"Distracted by the two organics?" Prowl repeated.

Both Jeffrey and Spike froze as all optic sensors turned to them. Optimus Prime approached the bridge, kneeling down to get a better look.

"Do not be alarmed." he said as calmly as he could. "We mean you no harm."

The two failed to respond, feeling completely overwhelmed from everything they had witnessed. Seeing this, Optimus looked sympathetic.

"It would appear your young friends are not taking all they have witnessed very well." He declared, glancing over at Melissa.

Melissa rubbed the back of her head in guilt and shame.

"Not my intention, believe me." she insisted.

Distant sirens began wailing in the background, showing the cops were on their way.

"Scrap." Bulkhead cursed. "Human law enforcement. We gotta motor."

Optimus nodded, turning back to the boys.

"I apologize for this." he said before reaching for them.

They were startled by the sudden, yet gentle grab, but their voices had yet to return to them. With the two boys now in tow, Optimus turned to the rest of his team.

"Autobots, return to base." he ordered.

They all transformed into their vehicle modes as they shot back through the portal. Optimus remained in robot mode, looking down at the two boys in his hands.

"I do not know what effect the Ground Bridge will have on organic life, so I apologize in advance." he told them

With that, he ran through the portal, the swirling vortex closing behind him just as the police arrived.

...

Back at base, the bridge allowed the Autobots to return. Ratchet looked them all over, seeing all the dings and scratches across Melissa and Bumblebee. He opened his mouth to begin berating him, then Prime came through with Jeffrey and Spike. Prime set the two down on the ground gently, taking a step back. Bulkhead looked down at them, scratching his head slightly.

"Are they broken?" he asked.

"Maybe they're in stasis lock." Prowl suggested.

"I think they're just in shock." Melissa insisted. "Give them a moment and I'm sure they'll-"

In that moment, Jeffrey hunched over and vomited all over the floor. The hideous sound had Spike following suit not long after. The bots all stepped back in horror and disgust. Bee buzzed frantically, as if asking what was going on.

"I think they blew a gasket or something." Bulkhead rationalized.

"It's called 'throwing up'." Melissa corrected. "It happens when organics eat something they're not supposed to, or are overcome with fear or stress."

"I'd say the latter is present here." Ratchet deduced.

Eventually, the two boys managed to empty the contents of their stomachs, spitting a few times and wiping their mouths. Their volatile eruption had also loosened their tongues, allowing them to finally explode with the multitude of questions and expletives that had been bottled up inside.

"What is going on?!" Jeffrey exclaimed. "What the hell are you guys?!"

"You just kidnapped us!" Spike shouted. "You kidnapped us you mother-!"

"We didn't kidnap you!" Melissa interrupted hastily. "We got you away from the cops."

"But why would you do that?!" Spike demanded.

"Did you want to take the fall for that mess?" Bulkhead questioned. "Because I'm pretty sure the human authorities would have thrown you in prison in a nanoklik."

"And then there's these… things!" Jeffrey let out. "Who… or what are you?!"

Optimus bent down again, the two boys stepping back instinctively. They both put a protective hand in front of one another, but Optimus did not make any more moves.

"We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron." Optimus explained. "Also known as Autobots."

"So… you're alien robots?" Jeffrey summed up.

"Essentially." Optimus confirmed.

"And… the Jeep that tried to kill us?" Spike asked. "He's an Autobot too?"

Ratchet let out a scoff.

"Breakdown may be a Cybertronian, but he's no Autobot." he declared.

"He's what we call a Decepticon." Melissa clarified. "They're the bad guys, so to speak."

"Okay…" Jeffrey said quietly. "And what exactly do these Decepticons want? Why were they chasing us?"

"The Decepticons want the same thing we do." Optimus told him. "To gather the resources necessary to save our home planet. By any means necessary."

"Then why are you fighting?" Spike asked.

"Because the Decepticons are ruthless, destructive glitches with no regard for life, be it organic or technological." Ratchet declared coldly. "They would desecrate their own dead just to assure victory."

"And as you witnessed, they do not care who they hurt to get what they want." Optimus added.

"Okay, I see why you hate them now." Spike spoke up.

"But why come here?" Jeffrey inquired. "I doubt we have the technology to help you guys."

"You do not, but your world is rich with natural resources." Optimus elaborated.

"There's a theory on our planet called the Synthetic Energon Theory." Melissa told them. "It states that organic matter can be used to create Energon, enough to sustain our world. We already know that Cybertronian life can be made from organic organisms, and our planet is at the point that we're willing to try anything."

"Energon?" Spike repeated.

"The lifeblood of our kind." Ratchet defined. "It powers our very being, as well as our tech, and the very core of our planet. Our planet of Cybertron has been drained of its once rich supply, leaving it a dying husk."

"If it didn't already go dark while we were in stasis." Prowl spoke up.

Bee buzzed bitterly at him, as if telling him off for being so grim.

"Wow..." Jeffrey let out. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Jeffrey." Melissa replied. "We've been dealing with this issue for stellar cycles. If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you for dragging you into our war."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Jeffrey cut off. "What do you mean by that?"

"She means that the Decepticons have seen you with us." Optimus clarified. "As such, they may perceive you as our allies, a perception that leaves you both in mortal danger."

"So what, if we see strange vehicles call 911?" Spike asked.

Ratchet snorted a second time.

"Human authorities don't stand a chance against the Decepticons." He scoffed. "You know all too well how humans react to us. By the time they wrapped their little brains around it, they'd already be crushed beneath their servos."

"Ratchet, ease up, okay?" Melissa chastised. "Seriously."

Ratchet gave her a shrug as Optimus looked down at the boys.

"I'm afraid that until the Decepticon threat has been dealt with, it would be best for you to remain under our watch." He told them.

The boys exchanged looks, honestly unsure of how to feel about this new arrangement.

...

Breakdown rolled up to where Knockout was parked, the Con having finally chosen a vehicle mode. He was a sleek red 2011 Stryker-Z, and seemed to be quite pleased with himself.

"I do believe I've found the perfect form." he declared as his companion rolled up. "So, what took you so long?"

"Ran into some old friends." Breakdown replied. "The Autobots."

That made the Con pause.

"Well, what are the odds." he remarked. "Better contact Lord Megatron. I'm sure he'd love to hear this."

Had Breakdown been in robot mode, he would have nodded. The two took off down the street as Knockout made the call.

"Lord Megatron." he greeted. "We have news."

" _Knockout, I don't care what form you've decided to choose._ " Megatron snarled.

"This is something far more interesting." Knockout assured him. "Breakdown had a run-in with the Autobots."

"I traced the scout, and nearly managed to take him and the traitorous glitch Massacre offline." Breakdown reported. "However, three more Autobots came to their rescue. The Wrecker, the ninja bot, and Optimus Prime himself."

" _Optimus._ " Megatron mused. " _So, he and the rest of his crew survived as well. More than that, they're also stranded on this miserable rock._ "

"Thought you'd like to know." Knockout declared. "We're on our way back to base."

" _Excellent._ " Megatron told them. " _I want a full report upon your return._ "

"Understood, Lord Megatron." Breakdown replied.

...

Megatron ended the call, immediately turning to Soundwave.

"If Optimus is alive, then he's no doubt found himself a base of operations much like our own." he surmised. "Monitor all frequencies for any signs of the Autobots. Report to me immediately should you find even a trace of their whereabouts."

"As you command, Lord Megatron." Soundwave replied.

...

"Hang on a second." Jeffrey insisted. "I get that you are trying to keep us safe, but we can't stay here."

"Yeah." Spike agreed. "Lunch period ends in 10 minutes, and if we're not back at the school and in our seats, we'll be grounded for life."

"Plus, what will I tell my dad?" Jeffrey asked. "I got caught up in a galactic war and have to stay with alien robots for my own protection? He'd either have me committed to an asylum, or grounded for the rest of eternity."

"Human customs." Optimus realized. "I did not take them into account. Even so, it is dangerous for you to be alone."

"I can keep them safe at school." Melissa offered. "I mean, they're in most of my classes anyhow."

"Even so, I think it would be wise to assign guardians to each of you." Optimus insisted.

"Yeah, I've already got one." Spike declared. "I don't need another."

"He means a protector." Bulkhead corrected. "Someone to keep you from ending up as scrap, kid."

"My name's not 'kid'." Spike declared. "It's Spike."

Bulkhead chuckled.

"I'm starting to like you." He declared. "You've got some spark in you."

"If that is the case, then you will become his guardian, Bulkhead." Optimus decided. "However, you must remain incognito."

"Curbside duty?" Bulkhead lamented. "C'mon Prime."

"Relax." Spike insisted. "My house borders on a fair-sized forest. I spend most of my time out there anyhow, so you can robot it up as you please."

Bulkhead seemed somewhat amenable to the idea after that, so Optimus focused his attention on Jeffrey.

"Bumblebee, you will accompany Jeffrey." Optimus decided.

Bumblebee buzzed happily, giving Jeffrey a thumbs up. Jeffrey returned the gesture, more than a little excited about having the car of his dreams. His elation was cut short when an alarm began going off. The two boys instantly panicked at the sound.

"What is that?" Jeffrey questioned. "Those Decepticons you mentioned."

Bee shook his head, buzzing rapidly.

"English, please?" Spike requested.

"It's the proximity sensor." Bulkhead explained. "It's got to be Fowler."

"Who's Fowler?" Jeffrey asked. "Another Autobot?"

"Special Agent Fowler is our designated liaison to the human world." Optimus explained.

"He's probably here about the car chase." Melissa lamented. "If he sees you guys, he's gonna flip."

"Agreed." Optimus told them. "I suggest you two hide for the time being."

The two boys scurried to safety as an elevator began to lower, allowing Agent Fowler into the base. Melissa shrunk down to human size, going to face him.

"Afternoon Agent Fowler." she greeted. "I'm assuming this isn't a social call?"

"Afraid not." Fowler replied. "Here about the little something that happened on the freeway."

Melissa sighed, then waited for the tangent to start. She didn't have long to wait, the agent poking her in the chest with each declaration.

"Seven wrecks, thirty four fender benders, and a traffic jam that's predicted to last for three hours IF we're lucky." he listed off. "And to top it all off, your pal Fanzone ran traffic cam footage, picking up a familiar black and yellow muscle car, one registered under your alias. So, anything you care to get off your tin chest?"

"Believe me, what happened out on that freeway was not my intention in the slightest." Melissa informed him. "I was being pursued."

"Your Decepticon buddies." Fowler rationalized. "I'm guessing the Jeep hot on your tailpipe wasn't a friendly, and now they know you're here."

"Unfortunately yes." Optimus lamented. "And I fear that with this knowledge, they will no doubt be hunting for us."

"Then it's time to wake up the Pentagon." Fowler declared.

"Hear me, Agent Fowler." Optimus insisted, leaning forward. "We are your best, possibly your only defense against the Decepticon threat."

"Is that so?" Fowler questioned. "Because from what I've seen, it's clear you bots are only good at causing traffic jams and making trouble. And don't even get me started on the two boys hiding behind the Med-Bot's foot."

Everyone stiffened, Ratchet glancing down at Jeffrey and Spike trying to hide behind his foot. Shaking off a serious sense of Deja vu, he bent down and picked the boys up, quickly depositing them in front of Agent Fowler. Jeffrey rubbed his arm sheepishly as Spike gave a tiny wave.

"Hi." Spike said quietly.

"Contact with civilians." Fowler spat. "As if today wasn't a shitstorm already."

"Would you believe that all we wanted was to get some KO Burger?" Jeffrey spoke up.

Fowler sighed, then moved towards him.

"Okay you two, I'm going to have to take you into Federal custody for your own protection." He announced.

Melissa put herself between the boys and Fowler, Bee's metallic hand adding an extra barrier. Bee buzzed and chirped a declaration, to which Fowler raised an eyebrow.

"He said that we're protecting them." Prowl translated.

"And who's gonna protect them from you?" Fowler questioned. "Your shrinking friend here may be safe from getting trampled, but I doubt these boys have such protection."

"Hey, fleshy!" Bulkhead snapped. "Did anyone get splattered on that freeway?"

He grabbed a mechanical arm off of a nearby table, ripping it free of its mooring and crushing it in his grip.

"Team Prime knows when to use force, and how much to use." he finished.

"Bulkhead, I needed that!" Ratchet shouted.

"Enough." Optimus interjected, turning back to Fowler. "Leave the Decepticons, and the boys to us."

Fowler looked less than thrilled with the idea.

"This isn't over, Prime." he declared, walking back to the elevator and shooting the bots a set of hard glares. "Not by a longshot."

The elevator closed at that, sending Fowler back up to the surface.

"Pretty big bearings, for a human." Bulkhead remarked,

"Agent Fowler is concerned for his world, as he should be." Optimus told him.

"He also made a very good point." Ratchet pointed out. "These boys lack the protective shell Melissa has, putting them in as much danger here as anywhere."

"You didn't think that back when I was a fragile organic." Melissa quipped.

"You were in a specially designed biodome." Ratchet argued. "They are not. Should they get underfoot, they would go… squish."

Both boys shuddered at the idea.

"Then for the time being, Ratchet, we must watch where we step." Optimus rationalized.


	10. Agent Down

The Ground Bridge opened up in a back alley near Sumdac High School. Bumblebee rolled out in vehicle mode, pulling up into the parking lot. Melissa, Jeffrey, and Spike all climbed out, running up the set of concrete stairs as Jeffrey threw his shoulder into the doors, opening them with a loud bang.

"T-minus 2 minutes til class starts." Spike reported over the sounds of their sneakers against the linoleum.

"Metal to the pedal!" Melissa declared.

"Y'know that the saying is the other way around, right?" Jeffrey questioned as he caught up to his companions.

"Works either way for me." Melissa retorted.

The three skidded through the door of their physics class mere seconds before the bell rang. The teacher, Miss Nakadai, raised an eyebrow before crossing her arms.

"Cutting it a little close, you three." she chastised. "I hope this won't be a recurring issue."

"Sorry Miss Nakadai." Jeffrey apologized. "We uh… got caught in traffic."

"Well then, please take your seats so we can begin." Miss Nakadai requested.

The three walked slowly to their desks, situated in the far back of the classroom. The teacher merely chuckled, shaking her head as she turned to the smartboard to begin the lesson, the three scooted close together, Melissa in between the two of them.

"I can't believe we made it to class on time." Jeffrey let out. "I was pretty sure we were going to be in huge trouble."

"I'm just glad we didn't get arrested or anything." Spike declared.

"Agent Fowler wouldn't have arrested you." Melissa insisted. "He was simply going to take you somewhere he deemed safe. He knows all too well the damage the Decepticons can cause."

"So, should we be worried about that whole 'this isn't over' declaration?" Jeffrey asked.

"Nah, Fowler may talk a big game, but he won't do anything that could jeopardize the only chance your planet has of stopping the Cons." Melissa rationalized.

"I guess so." Jeffrey replied.

"I hope you three are discussing physics back there." Miss Nakadai called out, not even glancing over her shoulder as she drew a complex formula involving mass displacement.

"Sorry, ma'am!" the three called back in unison before turning their focus onto the lesson.

...

Not long after the kids made it to their class, Agent Fowler had boarded his personal helicopter, taking off from the Autobot base. Once he was airborne, he got in contact with his superiors.

"Sir!" He called into his microphone. "This is Agent Fowler. We have a situation. I'm en-route from the Autobot base. I'll brief you in person."

" _Copy that, Agent._ " his superior replied. " _I'll be waiting for you._ "

Fowler hung up, tightening his grip on the control stick as his eyes narrowed.

...

At the Decepticon base, Soundwave approached Megatron. The Decepticon leader was overseeing repairs to the Nemesis, working to get it airborne once again. When he heard the intelligence officer come in, he gave the bot a sideways glance.

"Soundwave, what is it?" Megatron asked.

Soundwave began playing back Fowler's call to his superior, the word 'Autobot' having prompted the Con to record it. When Megatron heard the full call, a vicious grin grew on his face plate.

"So, the Autobots have even more human allies." Megatron mused. "How unfortunate for them. Bring me this 'Fowler' so that he may divulge his knowledge of the Autobots to us."

"As you command, Lord Megatron." Soundwave told him. "Laserbeak, deploy."

The metal drone detached from his chest, hovering before the Con's featureless face-screen.

"Operation: Extraction."

Laserbeak then flew off to do as he was told.

...

Fowler glanced over to his GPS, taking note of his location. He had only been in the air for an hour and had already passed over Cleveland and Youngstown. Only Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were left before he would reach the Pentagon. Smiling, he rolled up his sleeve to glance at his watch.

"Heh, right on time." he declared.

An alarm began blaring from the control panel, drawing his attention. Quickly, he placed both hands on the stick before looking towards the source. His radar was flashing, warning him of an incoming projectile that was quickly approaching from behind. He turned pale,

"What is a military drone doing this far from Andrews Air Force Base?" He muttered to himself. "And why is it going at that speed?"

He quickly grabbed the radio, preparing to clear up the situation.

"U.S. Air Force, this is William Fowler, Special Agent of the Department of-" The soft hiss of the radio became a loud, ear-splitting scream that declared the call dropped and disconnected. "What in Uncle Sam's beard was-?"

A loud bang and a screech filled the cabin and the helicopter shook hard, his head slamming into the glass of the cockpit as the tail lurched upward. He fell back in his seat, gripping hard onto the cyclic as he pulled it back to steady himself. It was then he saw the target. The drone slowed itself before its wings opened up, revealing a pair of thick mechanical tentacles with sharp metal fingers. The sight was one Fowler had seen before, and one he'd hoped never to see in person.

"Sweet lady liberty!" He exclaimed, gritting his teeth. "It's one of the 'Cons!"

It was then he noticed the trickling warm sensation rolling down his head. He slowly raised his hand to the source, pulling back twin fingers coated in blood. He snarled before turning to Laserbeak, who was closing in on the copter.

"You know robo freak, this was my favorite suit." He said, putting both hands on the stick before glancing at the gas meter. He could make it, but it would be close. "I'll be sure that you pay for that."

He looked up to where a series of switches were carefully labelled. He began flipping the weapons systems to activate. Rolling from the sides came two sets of six missiles and a rotary gun. He looked down, noting that he had over one thousands round and six missiles at his disposal. Unfortunately, he also had a crowded populace of people miles below that he couldn't afford to get caught in the crossfire.

"Damn, I gotta lure him away from the city." He picked up the radio, almost certain the robot menace was using it to listen in on him.

"Hey Drone-for-brains, let's play hide and seek." Fowler taunted. "You're it!"

The Apache fired a missile and it spun towards Laserbeak who lurched to the side. The missile veered past the drone, exploding a good mile away. Fowler pushed the stick forward quickly, nosediving down as Laserbeak. He quickly regained control of himself and set off in pursuit of the drone.

Laserbeak prepared the afterburners, Fowler swerved towards the city and hoped the drone would try anything. First thing was flying down Interstate 23. The crowded, back to back traffic of rush hour was clear to see from up here as they entered downtown. He turned hard left between two skyscrapers as Laserbeak followed. He stalled up, the engine screaming as Laserbeak followed.

"Yeah, keep following me, you overgrown bird." He murmured as he threw the stick back into his chest. The helicopter flipped into the air but as he looked down at the city, he didn't see Laserbeak.

"What the-?" Fowler let out, looking around for Laserbeak. "Where'd that 'Con-?"

Suddenly, he began losing altitude. He turned to look through the rear, black tentacles wrapped around the tail, squeezing the metal until finally the rotor gave way and the tail broke free. Engine fluid and fuel sprayed as the tail tumbled to the ground. The top propeller began to swerve and the helicopter was quickly beginning to spin into a nosedive. The agent gripped the stick, struggling to level himself out and not crash.

"Never an Autobot around when you need one." he grumbled.

He was closing in on a rooftop fast, struggling to hit a distress signal. Unfortunately, he was moving around too much and shaking too hard to get a good hit on the button. To make matters worse, Laserbeak's tentacles smashed through the windshield of the copter, making a grab for the agent. He struggled and tried to fight them off, but they eventually managed to pull him free of the cockpit. Fowler finally managed to hit the distress button, seconds before the copter crashed down on the roof. Fowler looked down at the wreck, then up at the drone holding him captive. He shot it a glare as it flew off with him, disappearing into the sky.

...

In the Autobot base, Ratchet and Optimus were in the midst of a debate about their new human allies. The Med-Bot was still very much against the idea of Jeffrey and Spike spending their time at base.

"Optimus, I know you think these humans can provide an invaluable resource, but allow me to plead to your sensors." he begged. "These humans aren't diplomats, they're children! We have no use for them, and besides, since Fowler arrived we've had nothing but trouble from the human authorities."

"And it is for that reason that building a positive human-Autobot relation is essential." Optimus rationalized. "And as for their youth, wasn't Melissa much younger when you befriended her?"

"He's got you there, Ratch." Bulkhead quipped.

Ratchet just growled, then an alarm began to blare. The med-bot's growl became a full-on groan at the noise.

"Back so soon, Fowler?" He questioned. "What does that fleshy want now?"

Prowl shut off the alarm, his optics widening slightly.

"You're half-right, Ratchet." he reported. "Agent Fowler's sending a distress signal."

"Can you trace it?" Optimus questioned.

Prowl shook his head.

"Location scan was incomplete." he answered.

Bulkhead gave a nonchalant shrug.

"Oh well." he let out.

"Bulkhead!" Prowl let out.

"What?" Bulkhead replied. "Fowler's a jerk."

"But he is also one of the few who know the location of our hidden base." Optimus pointed out. "I have no doubts that Megatron will do everything in his power to extract the information from him."

"Still think allowing those humans to stick around is a good idea?" Ratchet questioned.

"We will continue this debate later." Optimus told him. "In the meantime, is there any way we can locate Agent Fowler?"

"I'm afraid not." Prowl lamented. "Humans are not equipped with tracking software like us, and without a complete location scan, only Primus knows where Agent Fowler is."

...

With Agent Fowler, Laserbeak carried him for an unknown amount of time, eventually flying down into a small canyon deep in a heavily forested area. One large outcropping of rocks shimmered slightly, eventually becoming a still-under-construction Nemesis. It was still in rough shape, but the vehicons were working nonstop to get it air-worthy again.

Laserbeak flew through the open bay doors, eventually coming onto the main deck. Finally, the drone dropped Agent Fowler, retreating back on to Soundwave's chest. The intelligence officer ensured his drone was back in its proper place before grabbing Fowler, pulling him to his feet.

"Objective complete." he reported. "Target obtained."

"Excellent Soundwave." Megatron replied, stepping forward.

Fowler met Megatron's eye, struggling slightly in Soundwave's grasp.

"You treat all your guests this nice?" He quipped.

"Just those who call themselves friends to the Autobots." Megatron replied.

"Autobots?" Fowler repeated, feigning ignorance. "That one of those do-it-yourself car washing companies?"

"Amusing." Megatron remarked. "But you will find that the sense of humor is the first to be extinguished here. Starscream!"

Starscream approached, giving a small bow.

"Yes, Lord Megatron?" he asked.

"Take 'Agent Fowler' to the interrogation chamber." Megatron ordered. "I want the location of the Autobot base, and anything else he knows about them."

"As you wish, Lord Megatron." Starscream replied.

He took Fowler from Soundwave, carrying the agent off.

...

At the base, the Autobots were still pondering over their problem with Agent Fowler as Bumblebee came rolling in. Melissa, Jeffery, and Spike all vacated the bot, allowing him to return to robot mode.

"So there's an abandoned missile silo inside Mt. 20th street." Spike remarked. "I have to admit, that's pretty cool."

"I'm just glad we were able to go through the front door this time." Jeffrey voiced. "That Ground Bridge thing makes my entire body feel... fuzzy."

Melissa went to speak, then noticed how serious the other Autobots were. She walked over to then, transforming mid step into robot mode.

"What's the sit-rep?" she asked.

"Agent Fowler has been captured by whom we can only assume are the Decepticons." Optimus relayed.

"What?!" She, Jeffrey, and Spike all exclaimed, a shocked buzz from Bumblebee accompanying their cries.

"We got a distress signal a few cycles ago, but we were unable to trace the signal before it went offline." Ratchet spoke up.

"Well, why not use his tracker?" Spike offered up.

Ratchet cackled at the idea.

"Human beings don't have tracking programs!" Ratchet exclaimed.

"The ones that work for the government do." Spike corrected.

Ratchet's optics widened slightly before turning to the others with a slight, did-you-know-about this expression. The rest simply looked at Spike in surprise as he slid his backpack off his shoulder and made his way over to the computer terminal.

"Back in 2005, the US government started chipping their agents." He explained, pulling his laptop out of his backpack and booting it up. "All I need to do is hack into the Federal mainframe, pull up Agent Fowler's record, and I should find his tracker's ID number and start a GPS search."

"Do what you can, Spike." Optimus told him.

"Dude, since when could you do that?" Jeffrey questioned.

"Since forever." Spike replied. "Trust me, there's not a system on this planet I can't hack."

"Score one for Team Organic." Melissa complimented.

Even Ratchet had to give Spike some begrudging respect, watching and waiting for his search to bear fruit.

...

Two vehicons strung Agent Fowler up by his arms, suspending him in the middle of the interrogation chamber. Starscream walked around him, carrying a mechanical prod sparking with blue energy.

"Agent Fowler, I have one single request that would save your family the pain of grieving." Starscream informed him. "Tell me the location of the Autobot base."

"Sure thing." Fowler replied. "Right after you eat my star spangled shorts!"

Starscream let out a growl, but composed himself before holding up the rod.

"You know, there's one thing I'm quite curious about." He remarked. "How would an organic body react to a high concentration of Energon?"

He then jammed the prod into his chest, causing Fowler to cry out in pain and agony. The sound made Starscream chuckle as he removed the prod.

"As I suspected." he mused. "Not a pretty combination."

...

"I got him!" Spike cheered. "He's at latitude 62.4981° north, longitude 114.3603° west."

"Ratchet, plug in coordinates!" Prime ordered.

Ratchet complied, immediately doing so and opening a Ground Bridge.

"So, what now?" Jeffrey asked.

"Now, we go and rescue Agent Fowler." Bulkhead answered. "No matter how much of a pain in the fender he is."

"What about me and Spike?" Jeffrey clarified. "What can we do?"

"Remain here with Ratchet." Optimus told them.

"What?" Spike questioned. "No way. We can help!"

"It's too risky." Optimus insisted. "The area will be crawling with Decepticons, ones who will no doubt be on the lookout for us."

"Then… wouldn't it make sense for us to come?" Jeffrey suggested.

Prowl seemed intrigued.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, the Decepticons will be expecting you guys, not a couple of humans." Jeffrey rationalized. "We can sneak in undetected while you guys draw the Decepticon's attention."

"That… is actually a sound plan." Prowl relented.

Optimus thought it over, still a bit uneasy with the idea.

"This mission has a high chance of going south." Optimus informed the boys. "I cannot in good conscience ask you to come."

"Good thing you ain't asking." Spike grinned. "Team Organic is coming, if you'll let us."

"And I think that's another point in their favor." Melissa quipped, smirking at Ratchet.

Optimus paused for a moment, then turned to Melissa.

"You will accompany them." he decided. "Remain in your organic mode unless engaged. Should the worst come to pass, you must make sure that you three escape alive."

"Will do." Melissa replied.

"Autobots, transform and roll out!" Optimus called out.

The Autobots all did as they were told, Melissa shrinking down into organic mode as Bulkhead pulled up. He opened up his doors and the three climbed in. Then one by one, they all shot through the Ground Bridge, leaving Ratchet alone in the base.

...

At the Decepticon base, Fowler was panting hard from Starscream's very generous use of the prod. His entire body ached, and it was getting harder and harder to keep his mouth shut.

"Agent Fowler, this bravado is aiding neither you, nor us." Starscream told him. "Just tell me what I want to know, and all this will end."

"Answer me this… 'Con." Fowler said through gritted teeth. "Do you bots have a hell?"

"As in an afterlife?" Starscream asked. "While there is the Well of All Sparks, there are rumors of a place similar to your 'Hell'. Some call it the Pit, others the Inferno. Why do you ask?"

"So I can say this, and you'll understand." Fowler told him, looking him in the eyes with a cold look. "Go to hell."

Starscream growled at this, jamming the prod into Fowler's stomach once again, his optics glowing with fury.

...

Just outside the Decepticons base, the ground bridge opened up and the bots came through. They ended up in the ravine where the Nemesis was parked. A few vehicons who weren't doing repairs were milling about, patrolling the area. Spike looked through Bulkhead's windshield at the Nemesis, letting out a whistle.

"That ship has seen better days." he remarked.

"Still, it's in better shape than ours." Prowl remarked. "And that's not a good thing."

"Even so, it doesn't look air ready just yet." Melissa pointed out. "So we don't have to worry about it taking off for now."

"Right now, we have our own mission." Optimus reminded. "Rescuing Agent Fowler."

"Guess we better draw out the 'Cons." Bulkhead declared.

He opened up his doors and the teens climbed out, allowing Bulkhead to shift into robot mode. The rest of the bots did the same, Prowl turning to the three.

"Wait until the battle is underway, then keep to the walls of the ravine." he recommended. "Stay out of sight and contact us the second you find Fowler."

"Not my first rescue op, Prowl." Melissa reminded him. "I know what to do."

"Just the first with fellow organics backing you up." Prowl reminded.

Melissa nodded, then all three of them took cover behind a small outcropping of rocks. Once the humans were in place, the Autobots drew their blasters and opened fire on the vehicons guarding the ravine. Two went down instantly but another three managed to avoid getting shot. They returned fire, slowly chipping away at the rocks the Autobots were using for cover. Prowl and Bulkhead peered out from behind the rocks and fired off a few more blasts, taking out two more. The final one was taken out by Optimus, the Vehicon falling with a loud crash.

"Now's our chance." Melissa declared, grabbing Spike and Jeffrey by the wrist. "Let's go!"

They ran along the side of the ravine as the Autobots charged forwards, weapons at the ready.

...

From the main bridge of the Nemesis, Megatron could see the firefight going on below. His optics narrowed at the sight. He then activated the communications on board the ship.

"The Autobots have arrived." He announced. "Crush them!"

"It would be my pleasure, Master." Lugnut declared.

"Just try to save some for the rest of us!" The pixelated-face of Blitzwing demanded.

As the two went off to do as they were told, Megatron's optics focused in on one bot in the crowd. An evil smile spread across his faceplate as he found himself staring at the familiar red and blue color scheme of his oldest enemy.

...

Back outside, the firefight had escalated into an all-out battle, ditching the guns for straight up hand to hand combat. Prowl's hubcap throwing stars embedded themselves in optics and spark chambers as the ninja bot delivered precise kicks and jabs. Bulkhead formed his hand into a spiked mace, which he used to smash every Decepticon in sight. Bumblebee was watching his back, long blades slicing through any Vehicon foolish enough to get close. Prime had his axe in hand, swinging it with enough precision to sever multiple heads with one blow.

As this went on, the three teens rushed through the battlefield, skirting around fallen 'Cons and making their way to the Nemesis. They were just about to climb on board when the arrival of Blitzwing and Lugnut stalled their entrance. Jeffrey thought fast, pulling the pair under the gangplank seconds before the 'Cons would have spotted them.

"Prepare for extermination Autobots!" Lugnut declared. "For the glory of Megatron!"

"Oh scrap!" Bulkhead shouted. "It's Lughead!"

"Meaning Blitzwing isn't far behind." Prowl remarked.

As he said this, Blitzwing swept down from the sky, ramming right into the ninja-bot. His pixelated laughter grated in Prowl's audio receptors.

"Let's have a little fun, ninja-bot!" The crazed 'Con declared, flying off with his quarry.

Lugnut then leapt forward and reeled an arm back, a large button appearing on his fist. He went to bring it down, but Bulkhead moved to intercept, just barely holding the larger bot back.

"Oh no… you… don't!" He exclaimed. "No punching today!"

"Unhand me, Autobot scum!" Lugnut demanded, planting his foot on Bulkhead's chest plate and shoving him back.

Bulkhead went skidding back as Optimus charged forward, his axe glowing with power.

"Stand down, Lugnut." he told the oversized Decepticon. "You can't win this,"

Before Lugnut could make another move, a familiar aerial craft shot forth from the Nemesis. It transformed midair, revealing to be Megatron himself. The Decepticon leader landed right in front of Optimus, chuckling darkly.

"Optimus Prime." Megatron greeted. "It's been quite some time."

"Megatron." Optimus let out.

"Megatron?" Spike hissed.

"The Decepticon leader." Melissa hissed back. "Trust me, you don't want to be here when he starts fighting."

"Right." Jeffrey nodded. "Let's get inside."

The three snuck onto the vessel as Megatron prepared to face down Optimus.

"Shall we pick up where we left off?" Megatron proposed. "With me extinguishing your spark?"

"That is not how I remember it, Megatron." Prime remarked.

"Then allow me to jog your memory cortex." Megatron replied, extending a blade on one arm and readying a fusion cannon on the other.

He charged at Prime, swinging his blade at him and forcing Prime to block it with his axe. Bee tried to come to his aid, but was cut off by Breakdown's jeep. The 'Con transformed, punching his fist into his palm.

"I'm not done pounding you into the ground, scout." he sneered.

...

The teens kept close to one another as they made their way through the Nemesis. Thankfully, their plan had worked for the most part, and nearly all of the Decepticons were busy dealing with the Autobots. This only left a handful of Vehicons scattered around the ship, ones that were easy to dodge since they weren't looking for humans. After a little bit of searching, the trio came to a large room that seemed to be the data center for the ship. Melissa took a peek inside, spotting a Vehicon at the terminal.

"Bad news, there's a Vehicon guarding the place." Melissa declared.

"Is there good news?" Jeffrey asked.

"Yeah, there's a Vehicon guarding the place." she replied.

Melissa then transformed into her robot mode and drew her blade. The Vehicon heard her transformation and turned, only to get a blade right through the face-plate. The Vehicon fell as Melissa retracted her blade, turning back to the boys. She scooped them up, dropping them onto the terminal.

"I just need a moment to search for Fowler's location." she reported. "Shouldn't take too long."

She got right to work, typing away on the terminal. Spike took the opportunity to look around the room from their new vantage point. He looked among the screens, eventually coming across one that had what he could only describe as alien math.

"Hey Melissa." Spike spoke up. "What's that?"

She glanced over, her optics focusing on the screen.

"I'm not sure." she admitted. "I'm a soldier, not a scientist."

"Well whatever it is, it looks important." Jeffrey remarked.

"I don't have time to download the info." Melissa said discouragingly before returning her optics to the other screens. "We need to be in and out as soon as possible."

"In that case." Spike reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone and snapping a picture.

About that time, Melissa got the info she was looking for.

"Got it!" she cheered. "Interrogation room Delta."

She grabbed the boys and deposited them on the floor, shrinking down to human size once again.

"We gotta run." She insisted. "No doubt the 'Cons are putting the jumper cables to Fowler as we speak."

...

Outside, the battle was in full swing. Blitzwing had transformed while still holding Prowl, slamming the ninja bot into the side of the canyon. Breakdown and Bumblebee were wrestling as well, the scout struggling to hold his own against the 'Con. Lugnut had forgone his attempts to use the punch, opting to simply try and bash Bulkhead's faceplate in. While this was going on, Megatron and Optimus continued their clash.

Megatron let out a battle cry as he launched himself forward, his sword swinging down just as Optimus combat rolled to the side. The blade cratered the earth as Megatron swung it sideways, clipping into the side of Optimus' chest plate. Optimus stumbled back just as Megatron stood up to full size. He smirked down at the injured Autobot before preparing a second swing. Optimus brought his axe up to block the blade, struggling to fight through the pain.

Lugnut grabbed onto the trunk of a downed tree, ripping it free from its vine entangled grave before swinging it hard. The tree trunk struck Bulkhead in the side of the head, exploding into shards on impact. Bulkhead merely rubbed the side of his head as Lugnut turned to the giant. Bulkhead quickly lunged and tackled the bot to the ground, placing both hands on his shoulders in a pin.

"That all you got, Lughead?" Bulkhead quipped.

"It. is-" A foot suddenly planted into Bulkhead's chest. "Lugnut!"

He gave the bot a hard kick, throwing the giant into the air and onto his back before getting to his feet once more. Bulkhead got back up, wiping the corner of his mouth before forming his wrecking ball with his hand.

"Now things are getting interesting." he checked, charging forward once again.

Breakdown was thrown hard against the side of the ship, his head leaving a faint mark against the thick, black, metal structure. He attempted to regain his stance but Bumblebee pressed his arm into the chest of Breakdown before punching him in the face. He did this once, then twice, then again and again until Breakdown freed a hand and pushed the Autobot off of him.

Blitzwing landed high above the edge of the ravine, smirking at the downed Prowl. The ninja bot had been dropped onto the top of the ravine, covered in dents and scrapes.

"This is where this ends, you Autobot scum!" His red, angry head spoke.

His face then turned to his blue one as he leveled an ice gun at Prowl.

"Prepare yourself for certain annihilation, you annoying speck." he taunted.

Prowl leapt out of the way, the ice striking the ground and forming upright icicle. The 'Con's face spun a third time, becoming his pixelated face.

"Hold still so I can turn you into a bot-sicle!" He said in his crazy voice.

"You know, I fear for you, Blitzwing." Prowl said calmly as Blitzwing's pixelated eye seemed to widen, simulating a raised eyebrow. "One of these days, you are going to lose that head of yours."

Prowl suddenly entered a dead sprint, earth kicking up in a cloud as he ran at Blitzwing. His arm flashed a ninja star hub cap as Blitzwing raised his arms in defense, the two forces colliding.

…

"Interrogation Room Alpha, Room Beta…" Melissa murmured as she walked down the hallway, reading the bizarre Cybertronian inscriptions on the door. "We have to be getting close."

"What are we even gonna do once we find him?" Jeffrey asked. "He's probably guarded."

"No doubt about it." Spike declared. "Like you said, they're putting the jumper cables to him."

"We'll figure out something." Melissa assured them. "Right now, we just need to make sure we don't get-"

Suddenly, the mechanical hiss of an opening door sounded and a great hand wrapped around her. The other grabbed both Jeffrey and Spike around their stomachs. They were lifted into the air, face to face with Starscream.

"-Caught." she finished.

"Organics." He hissed darkly. "Next time you wish to rescue someone, I suggest you try being stealthy about it."

From inside the room, Fowler looked up from his pained stupor, seeing the three teens in the 'Con's grip. His eyes widened and he struggled in his chains, trying harder than before to break free.

"Let them go you- you overgrown rust bucket!" He shouted.

"I don't believe you are in any position to be giving orders, human." Starscream retorted. "However, tell me what I want to know, and I may just let them live."

"Here's my counter offer." Melissa piped up. "Let us all go, and you won't have to explain to Megatron why the Nemesis looks worse than it already does."

"What do you think you can possibly do to me, human?" Starscream taunted. "Spit on me?"

Melissa then leaned back as hard as she could, transforming in the 'Con's grip. Before he even had a chance to register surprise, she socked him right in the center of his face plate. He lost his grip on Jeffrey and Spike, allowing Melissa to catch them in her outstretched hand. They landed with a soft thud as Starscream fell hard to the ground. With her free hand, Melissa tore through the chains holding Fowler, gathering him in the other hand.

"That answer your question?" She quipped.

She then transformed a second time, this time taking on her vehicle mode, a B-2 stealth bomber. In doing so, she deposited her three charges into her cockpit, the cover slamming down before she rushed out of the room. She'd made it quite a ways down the narrow hallway before Starscream finally managed to scramble to his feet. He quickly reached the door, slamming his hand on an electronic panel on the side. The lights dimmed and red lights began flashing as the alarms were triggered.

The alarms quickly reached Melissa's audio receptors, the bot letting out a curse. She sped herself up as the organics arranged themselves inside. Jeffrey and Spike got Fowler set up in the rearmost seat, the two boys looking at him with worried expressions.

"Agent Fowler, are you alright?" Jeffrey asked.

"They…" He panted briefly before spitting out some blood with a red tinted smile. "They haven't broken this old eagle yet."

The two boys sighed in relief before Spike turned to Jeffrey.

"We need to get out of here soon." Spike insisted. "With that alarm going off, it's only a matter of time before we-"

"Hold on there." They heard Agent Fowler murmur.

They turned cautiously as he slowly looked around the cockpit.

"This is a Northrop Grumman Spirit Special." He realized.

"Ahhh… what?" Jeffrey asked, confused about what this had to do with anything.

"This is a specialized piece of all American engineering that is classified to anyone not in the United States Air Force!" He clarified. "How in Uncle Sam's beard did you even get the schematics for this?!"

"Well, Fowler's back to normal." Melissa sighed as she began gaining speed.

Suddenly, the whole plane shook as her rear exploded. A devilish laugh filled her intercom.

"You really didn't think it would be that easy, did you little bird?" Starscream's grating voice taunted.

"Scrap, Starscream's up already. He's stronger than I remember." She tried to regain her lost speed. "Everyone buckle up, this is gonna get messy!"

A second missile screamed passed her, as a third struck her in the boosters.

She turned down a corridor quickly, Starscream quickly morphing his legs out to kick off the wall to prevent crashing, leaving a nasty dent in the panel. He fired two more missiles, each missing her as she barrel rolled before exploding into expensive electronic equipment. She stalled up into an exhaust vent before Starscream, again, reformed his legs to stop into the wall. The impact cracked the computer screens he landed on and broke the keypads before reshaping his engines and flying after her.

"Well, hopefully that slows down this Decepticons a bit longer." Jeffrey remarked.

"We still have to get outta here though, Mels." Spike declared, looking over the array of switches and dials in front of him. "What do we do?"

"We need to lose Starscream somehow." Melissa replied. "Usually I'm the one doing the chasing, not the other way around."

"Hey Mels, how much do you know about Starscream?" Spike asked as he glanced at her radars.

"I've only been fighting with the guy for the past 15,000 stellar cycles." she quipped. "What do you need to know?"

"How well can he corner?" Spike asked.

Jeffrey glanced out the window, seeing Starscream leave a nasty gash in one of the walls as he tried to chase after them.

"From my angle, I'd say they're not his strong suit." He remarked.

"That they aren't." Melissa agreed. "Strap yourselves in, things are gonna get rough."

Melissa made a sharp turn, then a steep left before nose diving through another vent before coming out into a long hallway, all the while hearing the scrapes and dings of Starscream behind them. The hallway was the last thing that Melissa wanted. It was the guts of the Nemesis, with no doors for miles. She swore under her breath as Starscream came down.

"Looks like it's the end of the line for you, birdie." Starscream quipped before attempting another missile launch. "Clever trick using the darkness to your advantage, but now you're mine."

The missile went straight, but Melissa dodged it skillfully, knocking it into her wing and sending it into the wall. The wall exploded and light shone in. Starscream's night vision was suddenly pure white and the intercom exploded in a pained scream as he ran into the wall before regaining himself. Melissa looked at the small hole, then as Starscream. An idea formed in a matter of nanokliks.

"That the best you got, Starscream?" Melissa chuckled. "You always were a lousy shot!"

"You will not get away!" Starscream shouted, as the full array of his weapon systems manifested. "Not again! Not like on Cybertron!"

The missiles erupted like flares. The whole room was filled with flaming tails of rockets as they approached Melissa. She focused, doing math in her mainframe before she spoke.

"I would like to apologize in advance for this." she said softly.

Before anyone could ask what she meant, she flipped upside down, avoiding one half of the missile as she then spun again, deftly avoiding the others in one swift motion. The rockets slammed into the wall connecting the outer hull, tearing it open. The pitch black guts was suddenly filled with a blinding white light. Starscream's pained cries echoed as he crashed into the wall, reforming as a robot and falling to the ground. His optics were pixelated in blindness, but Melissa had no such handicap. She then flew through the hole in the side of the Nemesis, immediately connecting her comms to the rest of the Autobots.

"Melissa to Autobots, I have Agent Fowler." she shouted. "It's time to blow this oil stand!"

...

Back outside, Optimus perked when Melissa's call went through.

"Agreed!" He replied. "Autobots, fall back!"

Prowl managed to get himself free first, sliding in between Blitzwing's legs before transforming into vehicle mode. He sped off of the edge of the ravine, heading back down to where the rest of his team was. Blitzwing's red face spun forward as he looked in between his legs at the retreating two wheeler.

"Hey!" He shouted. "Get back here! I wasn't done pounding you into scrap metal!"

"But I'm done with you!" Prowl declared.

Bulkhead delivered a final uppercut to Lugnut, sending the 'Con stumbling backwards as he transformed as well, following Prowl out of the ravine. Bumblebee let out a happy chirp, throwing Breakdown over his shoulder and following his friends, transforming after a few steps. Megatron brought his blade down on Optimus' axe again, Optimus grunting as he tried to keep the 'Con off of him. Unfortunately, the wound in his side was leaking Energon badly, and he knew he needed to get away. Mustering what strength he had, he shoved Megatron off before morphing his hand into a blaster and shooting him back. Megatron managed to block the blast, but it gave Optimus the time he needed to transform, rolling after his fellow Autobots.

"Ratchet!" He called through the comm link. "Bridge us back! Use the arrival coordinates... Now!"

The ground bridge portal opened and every bot zipped through. Melissa went through last, the portal shutting behind them. Megatron watched the portal close, snarling slightly.

...

Ratchet looked over Optimus upon his return to base, patching up his side. Jeffrey and Spike did the same to Agent Fowler, sitting him down and following his instructions on how to use the silo's med kit.

"Thanks for coming for me." Fowler told the entire group. "You saved my life."

"It's what we do." Prowl informed him.

"Honestly, you should be thanking these two." Bulkhead said, pointing to Jeffrey and Spike. "They're the ones that figured out how to find you, and it was their plan that got you out."

Melissa, in robot mode, gave Ratchet a huge grin. The med-bot rolled his optics, but smiled good-naturedly.

"Hey, it was no big." Spike insisted. "I just didn't want to be that guy that's always relying on others to bail him out."

"For better or worse, Team Organic is part of this." Jeffrey agreed. "The least we can do is make ourselves useful."

Fowler chuckled.

"I suppose so." he allowed. "Besides, after that little incident with your Decepticons, it's clear that the US Government is hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned and outmatched. If we want a chance of saving our world, it's clear that we need to leave it to those better equipped to handle their threat."

"I promise we will do everything in our power to stop the Decepticons and their plans." Optimus reassured.

Spike suddenly perked up, fishing into his pocket and pulling out his cellphone.

"Speaking of their plans." he remarked, opening his photos and showing the picture of the alien math. "Will this be useful in any way?"

Ratchet bend down, looking at the photo.

"This equation does look familiar." he admitted. "I'll need to study it further to figure out exactly what it's for."

"And yet another point for Team Organic." Melissa chuckled, ribbing Ratchet gently. "Still think it's a bad idea for them to stick around?"

"I never said that." Ratchet insisted. "I was just unsure how adequately they'd perform in the field."

"I'd say these two have earned their place." Bulkhead declared, picking up Spike.

"Agreed." Optimus declared.

Bumblebee picked up Jeffrey, buzzing happily. The two boys exchanged grins, knowing that their lives had officially changed for the better.


End file.
